A Fragile Blue Rose (弱い青いバラ)
by JeffC FTW
Summary: Costars of the newest stage production of the ghost story Yotsuya Kaidan fall in love and marry. They're happy with their life, welcome their first child - but someone from behind the scenes is plotting to end their joy in a manner of horrific irony. Final in the Konoha Kaidan Trilogy.
1. Ikken Shita Tokoro

**One of the most famous ghost stories: Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan ("The Ghost of Yotsuya"). The first time I laid my eyes on it, the live action 1959 piece of art, I was utterly blown away at the masterpiece it was. I never saw the kabuki play it was based off of, but I did see the anime Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror which includes a segment that retells the tale. Both that and the movie are faithful to the original...and it was unexpected that it would make me do something bigger than the NaruHina shot "Yotsuya Kaidan".**

 **Which is why I bring a brand new ItaHana inspired by the classic tragedy of murder, betrayal and ghostly revenge. I won't say the summary any more than I did before you even clicked the link. :D**

 **Chapter title translation: "at first glance".**

 **Disclaimer: I own neither Naruto or Yotsuya Kaidan.**

Chapter One

Ikken Shita Tokoro

 _Not even two centuries it had been since this play was first written and staged in Edo, now Tokyo. Even now was it an incredible success and continued to tap into human fears:_ Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan _\- the Ghost Story of Yotsuya, first staged in 1825 by the renowned playwright Tsuruya Nanboku IV._

 _The man was in his seventies by the time, with only so much time left to leave behind a story that truly terrified the audience. Something that left the temples and noble homes, transcended down to the normal people which just about changed their lives forever. It was an incredible success that it even made extra demand with out-of-season performances._

 _It was the story of a woman wronged by her husband and in death became a vengeful spirit._

 _Lady Oiwa, whose curse still persists today._

~o~

"Come in, folks; this is the one performance you don't want to miss!"

Indeed, it was a performance that you who never saw it before would never want to miss out on. Lit by candlelight held by two men in black was none other than the infamous kabuki which continued to be brought to life, the texture never once changed over time, even though the cast would.

The two torches were held up to the woman in the center of it all. She was clad in a plain white kimono tied with a black sash, and her black hair - some falling out because of the "injury" on the right side of her face. What the audience wouldn't know, lest the mood be spoiled, was a stage hand was underneath the platform and assisting with pushing up the tremendous clouts of hair that were falling off due to the poison the woman had taken - and caused the hideous disfigurement on that side of her beautiful face.

Her moans and whimpers resonated a horror in the audience that some instantly regretted they even came today. At first glance, this was the most powerful scene in the entire story, but what would follow would make this only the beginning. Following the curse that the woman uttered before dying.

 _"Watashi no ikari o kanjite, Iemon!"_

 _Feel my wrath, Iemon!_

This "Iemon" referred to himself who was past the beginning and waited for his part after this to come. He shivered with anticipation, awaiting the fate in store for him but making it unknown to the audience. When they began, Iemon Tamiya heatedly fought with his father-in-law who attempted to separate him from Oiwa, the woman he loved, and in a rage he killed the man. At the same time, so had Naosuke - a servant in the Yotsuya household - even though he mistook the man for the one whom he competed against for Osode, the sister of Oiwa. Thus began the unlikely duo of Iemon and Naosuke to mislead the daughters into believing they could get revenge on the murderer - only if Osode married Naosuke and Oiwa returned to Iemon.

But things turned sour instantly. Despite going through all the trouble to get the woman he cherished - and with a reputation as a samurai for hire as bad as it could possibly get - Iemon's interest in her waned even after she bore him a son. _A once happy couple gone sour in poverty and Oiwa's desire to avenge her father. Being blessed with a child makes it worse for someone like Iemon..._

A direct contrast to himself, the man portraying the ambitious ronin.

So came along Ume, the granddaughter of old man Ito, who fell in love with Iemon and conspired with her family to get rid of the bedridden Oiwa who had been stricken ill since giving birth. Ume thought herself unattractive in Iemon's eyes, so her family remedied that by sending a facial cream to the unsuspecting Oiwa - it was actually poison that left her disfigured horrendously. When Iemon saw her, he decided to get rid of her as well by having the masseur Takuetsu make advances on her, but the latter who ran the local brothel couldn't bring himself to do it and so told Oiwa her husband's involvement - even though Iemon merely acted as an accomplice - as well as showed her new reflection.

What transpired was the greatest horror there was, and that was Oiwa becoming the vengeful spirit.

 _My turn._

He entered the stage, joining Ume and her family, thus becoming engaged to her - but it all ended in the second act when the ghost herself appeared, therefore tricking him into killing his new bride and her family.

The ghost with her indigo-tinted white face, the white burial garment as well as the ragged hair accompanying her malformed face and drooping left eye - brilliant but nightmarish. Both he and Iemon were petrified and driven to points of insanity - and it was a miracle he retained his own when the story was all over.

The audience erupted with roaring applause. When the lights were on, there were many ashen as the ghost they'd seen.

~o~

It is said that the kabuki was based off a ghost story which had basis and fact in terms of who Oiwa really was in life, albeit different very much from the final result.

The real Oiwa was a strong-willed and hardworking girl, daughter of Samon Yotsuya, and survived smallpox in her youth; she had to marry in order to prevent her family lineage from dying - and she chose masterless samurai Iemon Tamiya. But Kihei Ito tricked her and she was abandoned by her husband; she became emotionally unstable and ran through the streets of Edo, screaming like a madwoman...and disappeared. After that, the Ito and Tamiya lines were killed off or died until they were extinct.

Even today from the very first time the play was introduced, the tradition of praying at her shrine in the Tokyo neighborhood of Sugamo would take place. Before each staging of _Yotsuya Kaidan,_ the director and main cast would have to ask for her permission as well as her blessing - especially when it came to the casting of Lady Oiwa herself.

The pilgrimage from Konoha to Tokyo was nothing short of tiresome but necessary. Draining of the body but enlightening in asking the spirit for her absolution if they were to participate - for all they knew, she could come forth and bring misfortune. Some of the crew didn't believe in spirituality, but if they wanted things to run smoothly unlike the many times before, then they had to oblige.

The actress who portrayed her now was considerably lucky, though she was so afraid early on despite her father's reassurances. Stories told of strange accidents, deaths and occurrences to anyone in the crew and cast from the theatre to the movie era. They spoke that those who refused to go to her temple before production would be _cursed._ Despite "common" theatrical tricks, there were still the whispers.

One story, before the war broke out, spoke of a man who narrated the tale and suffered an accident involving a lantern with his name _without a breeze._ He was said to have whispered Lady Oiwa's name, labeling her as the cause, before his last breath.

Even if the story would be adapted into many movies and television shows, the curse was believed to live on. You would just ask yourself: even if Nanboku IV were dead now, the audience in the aftermath seems to WANT the tale to be retold in each new generation to come.

Now in this time, when her father first made the trip to Sugamo, he had first asked permission to have the play take place in his theatre in Konoha, then knelt at the shrine for the blessing. When that was done, he brought them all out to do the same...but one of the crew who refused to do it suffered a serious injury which was one of many, and that was a swelling to the face. It was none other than Tenten, who was going to play Ume, the second wife who would be the first of Oiwa's wrath. When the vengeful wife first appeared on Iemon's wedding night, she tricked him into killing the bride, and to follow the old Ito patriarch himself until he obliterated the entire household. _Before going into hiding at a mountain retreat - but even he wouldn't be safe from his wife's ghost or even Yomoshichi._

She spoke of the character her younger brother was given the role of. Naruto didn't believe in spirits, but if he wanted to be a part of this and didn't want to suffer what Tenten did, he had no choice but to pray to Oiwa's spirit.

It seemed the spirit saw her as the perfect portrayer despite not having the ravenesque mane, which required a wig to be placed over, and when it was all over, she would remove it and release long waves of gold that reached the middle of her back. Which she would finish smoothing out using the comb that belonged to "Oiwa" - her mother's heirloom.

It was a thrill to feel the audience on her when she let herself become the virtuous woman who was deceived by her own husband and became an _onryō_ to exact revenge on him and the others with. As long as she could remember, Oiwa was like her in personality: kind, loving and unassuming - but what if, beneath that, was a real core of steel that she couldn't show even when Iemon became so cool towards her? _If she did, it only came out in death._

And to work alongside none other than the other star himself: the man behind Iemon whom she privately hated more than the others who played a part in poor Oiwa's demise. The older brother of the best friend of her own younger brother - how ironic was that? The families being in one business?

All Hanaru Uzumaki had known in her lifetime was having a crush on Itachi Uchiha as a teenager the few times she would be in his path, admiring him on stage since he reneged against being in the Uchiha family software business; he was so lucky his father hadn't disowned him. If she didn't know any better, she'd suspect Fugaku would patiently wait until his eldest son got duped or something, or he would just die and then Itachi would have no choice. She had no idea which would be worse.

There was also Sasuke, whom she had a serious problem regarding his attitude since teenage years. Before that, he used to be a loving child, so why and how had he turned into such a person? _And here he is, too - with his perfect older brother in the same business._

Sasuke was the younger son, so yeah, he was hardly paid mind to, so he went off to just find something else that made him happy. He wasn't made for business, but pretending to be someone else on stage was a surprise to the Uchiha. And then it seemed to spark something in Itachi because he wanted to finally escape pressure on his own.

Hanaru remembered laughing with Naruto, both shedding tears of joy, when the Uchiha brothers ended up with them in this profession.

That was when she started to see Itachi more and more every day.

The Uzumaki theatre was family both in blood and non-relations, and it was a joy, with ups and downs - but when _Yotsuya Kaidan_ came along, the security within each other was tight. Especially since the urban legends were lessons to be learned, especially to those who laughed it off.

The success was brought from Tokyo to here. The Uzumaki family was happy to have survived another hard season; even they were not invulnerable to any economic times. On this night was the reception - the first night of the staging - and after-party. The cast and the audience dressed all finely, and tonight she found herself looking around and smiling at the others whom she'd known all her life and couldn't have been more lucky.

Right now she entered with her father, Minato, and with Naruto as well as Hinata - who had been Osode, younger sister of Oiwa. _If she'd actually died the way Osode did, we would all shed more tears for losing her just like the people watching had. But here she is, enjoying the night we deserve after weeks of hard work._ The Hyuuga was in a light blue chiffon dress, pushed off the shoulders, with a ruffled lacy neck; dripping from her ears were globes of white quartz and a clear glass orb around her neck. She was so beautiful that if you added too much, you'd take the natural away. And that body a man would kill to claim for himself!

And just looking around at everyone made her oblivious to the one who had his eyes on her only while she walked arm-in-arm with Dad - who was proud of both his children and the others - and her brother with their shared best friend to greet the fans who were lucky to have VIP passes to mingle with them.

~o~

When he was younger, and even now, he didn't like being the center of attention, but when it came to the choice he made in working alongside his brother just to get away from pressures of the family, it was the best thing to happen. Success was what Fugaku always wanted, but this he chose on his own and didn't regret one minute of it.

Kabuki suffered after the Second World War, being rejected along with many ideas from the past as well as fashions. Although it returned to its feet for the modern era. Many of its actors would be in television as well as film roles. For him, Itachi never thought about getting that kind of part even though his credentials and his fanbase rendered him capable. His career hadn't died at all, nor was he in danger of financial ruin.

In fact, it was Sasuke to thank. Little brother who found something for himself after not having the support of his family - well, except Mother - and had to convince his big brother that this might be for him.

Sinking into another character, understanding them beforehand, was his specialty that he could have become a psychiatrist, but labeling someone based on textbooks and prescriptions wasn't his alley and absolutely narrow-minded and judgmental.

When he got chosen to play Iemon Tamiya, when he first read the script, he wondered off the bat what could be the drive to the man's desire for more, and it wasn't just his love for Oiwa, but something had to have happened that led to his position. Presumably his master was disgraced himself and left his samurai without a master. According to historical tradition, samurai were to commit ritualistic suicide to avoid dishonor. Many of them turned into ronin, and these samurai for hire often became bandits - and that was what Samon Yotsuya saw Iemon as. The murder of his father-in-law had been an act of anger and desperation, but every act to follow - including aiding with the death of his beloved Oiwa whom he went through all the trouble for - was unforgiveable that he had to suffer the consequences.

Despite this knowledge, Itachi enjoyed playing the character.

He found himself nearly running into Jiraiya, his would-have-been "grandfather-in-law" who ended up being the target of the wrath of Oiwa. The old man in reality was Hanaru and Naruto's grandfather; he was Minato's father. He was a legendary kabuki actor and playwright for certain love plays - and let's not forget his open flirtations of younger women since his wife passed on a few years back. But before that, he was known for his tactics and was extremely faithful to her; she had been known to smack him around for being so brazen, and you wonder how they lasted as long as they did. Itachi remembered how his father always said when it came to women, she would support you whether she liked it or not, but she would still go off like a firecracker if you went too far. Anything to keep you in place.

Now, if Jiraiya had it his way - since they were back to the present - he would have said this ancient play was his own masterpiece. That is, if the time had been different. "Man, and I thought her grandmother could knock the breath out of me if she had to!" Jiraiya said, slapping him on the back proudly. "That makeup and all, those screams...I saw you turn white as a ghost. Admit it, you were scared, too, Itachi."

"A man doesn't scare easily," he said. _A man only admits his uneasiness, never true fears._

"Yeah, well, I told myself that for years. But you know what they say: you can always be surprised. I've had my share of surprises over the years. Just like I was surprised when you and my granddaughter brought to life the tragedy of Iemon and Oiwa. You should hear her dad when Minato says she 'steals the show like a dynamite that just goes up in the flares.'"

Itachi chuckled as he agreed with the older man. The one whom his character had conspired with to marry Ume so he could gain a better position was just pointing it out just as his attention laid on her when he saw her come in with her father, brother and Hinata who portrayed Oiwa's sister whose life ended in a way uninvolved with her sister's curse. _When she thought her man had been killed - unknowing it was Naosuke - and agreed to marry Naosuke so they could get revenge on the man who was "responsible" for the murders of her father and Yomoshichi...only for the latter to return and see her with his enemy, and she's left accused of adultery. She chooses death between them, but not before revealing she and Naosuke are really brother and sister. They didn't consummate the marriage before because she concealed attempted incest. And it left Naosuke to take his own life._

To see his brother "stab" himself, throwing out his loathing and disgust at what a heartless and worthless bastard he was - because the shame of being in love with his own sister as well as killing his former master whom he thought was Osode's beloved. Which left Yomoshichi - _Naruto_ \- to go after Iemon...none other than Itachi himself. It was great fun to trade sword fighting with the brother of the woman who stole his breath away in several forms, to list them off:

Appearance. _A rare angel, but with a temper like her mother and grandmother._

Performance. _Understanding Oiwa so well that she BECOMES Oiwa._

Hinata was lovely as the snow, but it was Hanaru he let himself be lost in taking in all the details: the black dress gathering around her wonderful body, the sleeves fluttering at the tops of her arms. That long hair which he would often see fall down her back and shoulders when she removed that messy midnight wig was held back in a sleek ponytail to show the diamond and ruby flowers in her ears; her necklace was a regal ribbon set with a large ruby and dripping with mined diamonds.

But then he was approached himself by none other than his brother who was with his date, and Ino herself with her husband of a few months. Sakura Haruno was recently made into a doctor at the general hospital, having been under Tsunade's apprenticeship before the woman died, and after that, she was on her own. She was an impressive woman that he was glad Sasuke had her as his significant other. But up to now, they hadn't yet decided to tie the knot, but it didn't cross Itachi's mind to ask why. What was between them would stay between them.

Sakura was all spring as she was named: her hair was pink as the flower itself, cut about her ears like a pixie, and her eyes were green as the earth's environment as well as the natural stone around her right forefinger. Her dress had several tiers in the skirt; it was patterned with bursts of rosy blossoms, and the low neck drew attention to the deco-inspired diamond necklace and matching earrings. She was Sasuke's opposite that attracted.

She and Ino Yamanaka had been best friends since girlhood. His fellow actress who had the pleasure of flirting with him while bringing Ume to life - a means to get into character, nothing else, but then again, the Uchiha had a history of attracting innuendos from blushing young women most of the time - and reassuring her husband, Sai, that he was still the one for her, to which he blandly replied with a small smile that she was all over Itachi as much as her character was over his. The blonde with the high ponytail was lovely, but the other who was still within his vision was the occupant whom he wished he could pull aside and give his attention to. Ino's dress was vibrant teal, V-necked and slitted in the front, beaded elaborately all over, finished with crawling diamond vines in her ears.

Seeing the happy couple made Itachi look down at the ring around Ino's finger which captured the painting of a water lily: the opal was within layers of white and yellow gold in one. It made him return his attention back to Hanaru, who was embracing Kakashi and Choji - the former who played Samon and the latter Takuetsu.

Choji was a kind young man, so to play a character who was being paid by Oiwa's own husband to force her to be unfaithful as grounds for honorable divorce was difficult for him. He was a gentleman towards Hanaru during rehearsals, but she knew it was only pretense and swore to never hold it against him. As for Kakashi: he'd been a dear friend of Itachi's since they were young boys. He was also auditioning for his first television role in Tokyo which was set for the following summer, so the Uchiha wished him the best of luck.

Now, for the first time that evening, Hanaru looked HIS way and smiled, a slight blush coming to her face.

Itachi swallowed, yet he couldn't tear his eyes away from the woman he'd known professionally for years but wanted more now. He had waited a long time for her - but would she return his affections?

 **Whoo I have no idea where to begin. XD**

 **The idea that Itachi portrays Iemon in the play came from when I was watching Ayakashi. Somehow I ended up imagining CRISPIN FREEMAN (Itachi's English VA) as the vile man, because knowing the kind of characters he is known for. But really I would never ask for anyone other than Brian Dobson who did Iemon justice.**

 **Itachi's desire to understand the characters before portrayal also comes from Crispin's experience with figuring out psychologically what motivates the characters he is going to play. He did that with Itachi. :D**

 **The information on Yotsuya Kaidan in every form (kabuki, TV and film) is all true to fact, so where it comes from doesn't really matter, but Wiki is definitely a source. Even Nanboku himself who narrated the segment in Ayakashi. The beginning with the performance announced also is a moment that takes place at the start of episode 7. XD It's so funny because you have to watch the Yotsuya Kaidan arc from the bottom up; I have no idea why the creators chose to start the stories that way.**

 **REVIEW. :D**


	2. Haru No Katami

**Now, when I first heard the theme song for Ayakashi, by Chitose Hajime, I burst into tears because of how MAJESTIC it was. :'D I mean, I don't listen to Japanese songs with lyrics all the time, but this blew me away that it gave me more inspiration for this story that I HAD to include its English lyrics at some point.**

 **Chapter title (and song title) translation: "memento of spring".**

Chapter Two

Haru No Katami

The success of Nanboku's play had never felt so good. All the trouble was worth it, despite one minor issue. Although Tenten was getting the best care she could get, and she would be back to normal. Except she was given a new part in a television series that had been on for awhile.

She was so tired when she went home with her father. Since Naruto was still going to school and had a new apartment with his girlfriend, she willingly chose to stay with Minato just to take care of him - until she found a husband, too. He hadn't actually done well since Kushina died years ago, but he was still a good father. Someone had to make sure he was all right. Things would have been much worse if she hadn't taken the part of mother, though not replacing Kushina.

They were all going to relax after the hard work that paid off. That left Grandpa Jiraiya to get back to work on his newest love play which would stage when he would go out of town next time. Even at his age, he enjoyed the adventure and showed no signs of slowing down.

She was at the family house one weekend, both of them home Saturday, and it was that day the doorbell rang when she was preparing lunch for the both of them - nothing but grilled fish, _onigiri_ and ramen! - and Minato burst out into laughter that it made her frown. What could be so funny that her father had to laugh? She turned off the stove so the fish didn't burn and lowered the burner with the noodles to a soft shimmer before leaving the traditional kitchen and finding him in the foyer beneath the warm chandelier - and what he had in his arms shocked her. "Dad, who sent those?! Did you buy them?" Hanaru exclaimed. _If you bought them for me, then thank you! A reward for the play's success and my efforts like everyone else!_

Minato chuckled and shook his head, giving them to her, which told her they were indeed for her. "No, but the one who did was really clever and has to be lucky. Lavender and blue roses - great mix!"

Indeed, they were beautiful: the delicate lavender ones which, in western tongue, were an expression of the earlier flushes of love - a sensation of being enchanted at first sight. But the lushly hued ones made all the difference especially with the note that was written on the card, leaving out the obvious meaning of the pastels:

 _Blue roses are rare and unknown in origin, but they are surreal and revered as something - or someone - which is impossible to reach. But_ _NOTHING_ _is impossible._

Someone thought to send her blue roses because they were exotic and mysterious, but not impossible as far as they were concerned. As if they were telling her that regardless of those facts, she was as extraordinary as these flowers were.

But wait: these flowers also meant that you should always proceed with caution. _Caution against what? Oh, what does it matter?_ Hanaru shook her head. There was just so much more positivity, as well, surrounding these magnificent roses, especially when there were new possibilities awaiting you in life, the excitement on the rise - that was the mystery right there! And this person had sent them to tell her just that in this way.

Was she floating up to the clouds? _This feeling -?!_

What made the greatest difference was the signature: _Itachi Uchiha._

The man whom she crushed on since a younger age had sent her a bouquet of sapphire blue and lavender roses, taking her by surprise altogether. Why had he decided he'd do such a thing?! The look from her father as well as the blushing of his skin didn't help either. How could she have reacted the way she did and not notice that her secret love had sent her a bouquet with a clear message? This was honestly too good to be true.

"Dad," Hanaru said, getting herself together and looking him in the eyes, keeping the flowers - all of which gave off a scent combination of tea and spice - close to herself, "I gave him no reason to send me such a present. What do you think?"

He chuckled and took them from her to gently lay down on the rounded table in the middle of the foyer, which had a scenic vase from the Edo period. "I can think of one thing only. I've known that boy as long as I've known my own children. Although that Sasuke has grown into a bit of a handful now, Itachi is a fine one. I saw the way you looked at him - but have you noticed how _he_ looked at _you_?"

Hanaru couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her own father noticed all these years and she was too embarrassed to talk to him about it since fathers were very protective of their daughters - _like Samon had known what kind of man Iemon was_ \- and yet here Minato was with telling her Itachi had really noticed her more than she thought.

~o~

He and his brother shared a flat, safely away from their father's hand. Their mother said her boys could come back anytime they wanted, and it wasn't like Fugaku would complain anymore. Itachi was up that Saturday morning, enjoying his tea, when he received the notice on his mobile that the delivery had reached its destination which was none other than the Uzumaki house.

If only he could see her reaction - but what worried him was what her father would say. He didn't worry easily, but Minato was his employer. Though he considered talking to the man about...courting his daughter in the future. As far as the Uchiha were concerned today, it was respectable to not treat the lady like a prize to be fought over.

So he thought of one way that meant giving it all away because it had been long enough that he kept these stirrings to himself. This was his way of giving away the hint: combining the blue rose of mystery and the enchanting lavender. The big question was whether or not it would work, and if not, what else could he do?

It was on that day he paid a visit personally to the flower shop for the order to deliver when he could have done it over the phone - when Ino was working there, which was her job when she wasn't acting on stage, and it was also her mother's store - that he was shocked to see a familiar face he hadn't seen in years since college had begun. Half of him was glad he had done just that, because it made him happy that SHE had come back, but for how long?

"Oh, Itachi! It's been a long time!" the woman said, her dark eyes bright and sparkling. The warm chocolate hair that framed her now oval-shaped face - a slimmer contrast to the roundness of childhood - was behind her ears to show off tasteful black Tahitian pearls. He let his eyes roam over her body, which had more curves than he would have seen when they were younger; he saw her like this for the first time since they were teenagers. The black top with three-quarter sleeves showed the outlines of a slim waist and a sweet bust that wasn't like Hanaru's - not to be perverted, but observing - and from the waist down was a skirt blossoming with brilliant purple bouquets. Itachi didn't think he'd finally notice how breathtaking she was when he thought he'd seen it all. "I just got home yesterday," Izumi said, going up to him and giving him a one-armed hug, because of the arrangement she carried in one arm, and he happily returned it because she was his oldest friend. She'd gone off to pursue a music career; it kept her on the road much of the time than here in Konoha.

"I see you've done well, indeed," he said. "Songs written for colleagues and having just completed your first solo album. Your mother must be proud of you as I am."

She laughed - sweet as the spring themes of her music. "She is. In fact, I'm going to stay with her while I am on break. I'm going to take the time off the road and settle for writing music here at home. I also thought I'd bring this home." She held up the basket, which was painted white like the classic picket fences of the countryside, and it was filled with white roses which glowed like the moonlight as well as lavender alstroemerias. Nothing but something soft and sweet for the season.

"I'm going to have my gig here, too, before I really settle down," Izumi said happily, "and I'm really excited. Can I persuade you to come and see?"

It was late spring at the present, and her album covered the seasons of the year as well as the significance of life in every single one. He would love to catch up with her by seeing her performance, but - "When are you booked?"

She chuckled. "In two months. That gives plenty of time to get you ready, right?"

Indeed it was. A summer concert - how bad would that be? Depending on what day that was, he wanted to ask _Hanaru_ to go with him. That also meant he could tell her his feelings that night. What better timing?

It brought him to the present when he was interrupted from his musings by a clear of the throat. "Good morning, big brother. Is there something wrong with your tea," Sasuke asked, coming to stand close behind him, "or is there something distracting you?"

He grunted and smiled up at his younger sibling. "Nothing at all. And a good morning to you, too, little brother."

The younger Uchiha helped himself to a rice ball that was in the refrigerator. "So, what were you smiling about?" he asked after the swallow of a bite.

"Nothing really. I made the delivery to a certain someone and am happy they must have received it. That's all." It wasn't that he didn't trust Sasuke, but because this involved a woman - and Naruto's older sister, nonetheless - he felt like a schoolboy again.

"Oh...let me guess: it's a woman. That doesn't surprise me, nor is it my business," Sasuke grumbled, rolling his eyes. "And whatever you do with her, I don't want to know."

Based on the way he said that, it was simply because they were brothers and therefore such details were better left unspoken, but that wasn't all: Itachi had no idea why it bothered Sasuke to hear them from his older brother since he had a girlfriend himself. "Whatever do _you_ do with Sakura when my back is turned?" he retorted with a smirk. They were both grown men, so it didn't bother him in the slightest if he and Sakura went ahead before marriage - though if they used protection in order to avoid unplanned pregnancy, he was proud - but it turned out to be the opposite.

"Sex before marriage is out of the question for me."

Chuckling, Itachi picked up his mug and took a sip of his tea just at the same time as his cell rang, and he was surprised to see HER name. He swiped the bottom to answer. "Why, what a surprise, Hanaru." His back had turned to Sasuke, unseeing the slight scowl on his face.

There was a pause before she said why she was calling him: _"Um...thank you for the roses, Itachi. They're really beautiful. But...why did you send them to begin with? I don't remember giving a reason."_

Her innocence stirred him within his core. She gave him only these reasons: she was never going to leave his psyche, nor could he pretend she deserved better, but most importantly...not only was she beautiful and mesmerizing, but she was exactly the kind of woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

~o~

When she decided to call Itachi, she only planned on telling him thank you for the flowers which were now in a fresh bamboo vase on her bedroom window - NOT to hear him say not only was she deserving of the roses, but because he had known her a long time but wished to start seeing her outside work. _"Only if you are willing,"_ he'd added, and she answered in a heartbeat. Then he wasted no time asking her something that had to only exist in a dream.

 _"In a couple months, an old friend of mine who has returned to Konoha will be having a gig, so I was considering obtaining a couple tickets - if you wish to go with me."_

When Hanaru told her father this, he simply gave that goofy grin and told her that she was a grown woman and didn't have to ask his permission. Would Itachi try something funny? She had no idea, but she was prepared for anything in case. He never gazed at her any longer than she'd seen him - counting that night of the premiere when she looked at him while standing with her father and brother, at the man who shared the glory with her and the others. The beautiful, cultured man who was every girl's dream. And he had to suddenly ask her on what might be the first real date they had.

 _Mom used to say to just go with the flow and let what happens happen. It might not go well the first time, but everyone has beginner's luck._

Somehow Hanaru didn't want that to happen with her and Itachi. At the back of her self-awareness was the belief he was the one for her all along, without bordering on obsession.

She decided her little black dress from the premiere was perfect, along with the ruby and diamond flowers in her ears, and she slid on the ring that had been from Grandma Tsunade years ago: the rosy gold band was engraved with a serene mantra script.

When she slipped on the fierce black leather band holding the watch face which was rimmed with crystals, the mother-of-pearl face displayed the time which was fifteen minutes to when Itachi would come and pick her up.

It was hard to believe that it had been two months that went by. She and Itachi before now hadn't gone on a real dinner date, but it was all worth the wait.

His eyes shone alight when they laid on her. "I remember that dress," he husked, his grip tightening on the wheel of his black luxury which he still had even after high school. "And that was when my breath was taken away, Hanaru. I decided from that moment that..." The light bulb of hope swelled inside her as she waited for him to finish that sentence, but sadly, he never did, and he hastily started the engine to take them out of the neighborhood and for the park where the summer concert was taking place.

The singer was an attractive brunette in a sparkling black jumpsuit with a plunging neckline, and her voice was that of an angel - or something more divine her overwhelmed brain couldn't think of. This woman was an old friend of Itachi's from childhood who had just come back, and a small part of her got a little suspicious if he didn't tell her before he had a girlfriend - or girlfriends - before her. _As long as I can remember, no one ever said he dated anyone, but girls fawned over him._

 _The color of falling blossom fills the sky_

 _which lingers with end of my selfish love_

 _Eventually, after everything has passed away_

 _I will think of nobody but you_

Speaking of love which many believed was one and only, nothing could tear it apart - but in the end, nothing lasted forever. You only had to live and make the best of everything.

 _Once upon a time during spring,_

 _We kissed for the first time_

 _Underneath the evening twilight_

 _Enveloped within an illusion of fragrance_

 _I thought of nobody but you_

Itachi was close next to her, and that was when she heard the inhale of his nose, finally noticing that he was close enough to catch a whiff of her perfume, which was ever her favorite and the only one she would ever wear in her life. "Mmm," she heard him say, and it sent the shivers up her spine and throughout other parts of her body. "It's very fresh, just like you are."

 _Water and flowers, fresh? I guess it really is._

If they were somewhere else, would they have had the thrills like right now, in rain like in all those movies and novels? She didn't want to expect too much, but she couldn't help but wonder. She was having such a wonderful time here with him - _and his friend is so wonderful, I really gotta talk to her after all this!_ \- enjoying sweets and delicacies, barbeque and so on, and much of their friends and cast were also attending. She saw her brother and Hinata from afar, hanging off each other without effort, having been lifelong dearest friends and thus blossomed because it was only natural.

Now that made Hanaru look into the eyes of the man whom she had the pleasure of the company with, unaware that the singer was watching them as she absorbed in delivering the message.

 _We found each other in our sadness_

 _and in the pouring rain we held one another_

 _Before I can no longer breathe or see_

 _I will think of nobody but you_

Oh, what happened afterwards: she put both her hands on his face and brought it down for a hell of a kiss she wanted all her life. He returned it with vigor, surprisingly not delving his tongue in to fight with hers. Unashamed that people could be watching - especially her brother, still protective at their age of her more than she was over him - she wrapped her arms around his neck and his arms around her hips. Her mind kept going over and over this was too good to be true...except it WAS.

 _This fleeting memento of spring_

 _is the most beautiful thing I have_

 _and I want to leave it here, just for you_

 _just for you_

Hanaru was so enveloped in Itachi's spell that she didn't actually notice how sad the singer was when she saw their embrace. She was so wrapped up in this spellbinding moment that nothing else mattered except one thought as well as her man's soft, powerful lips.

If all these years hadn't been enough, this crush of hers might as well have blossomed into real romantic love she would never regret admitting to herself.

She had never been so lost with anyone before - or anything, for that matter. Itachi was the only one to do that to her. Just like the singer said: _this fleeting memento of spring is the most beautiful thing I have, and I want to leave it here...just for you._

But he wasn't going to flee. No way and no how. She was going to do everything in her power to keep him, without being selfish and ungiving.

~o~

It was all thanks to Izumi's influence via her song and Hanaru's simple, enchanting presence that compelled the kiss they shared. _Oh, my..._

His lungs were constricting when he broke off the kiss and looked at her face. Under the lights, he could see the faint but obvious flush to her cheeks. The summer night was mild compared to during the day when it was in the high eighties. _But that heat is not compared to THIS._ This woman who smelled of water and flowers, bore the power to tap light into darkness, and held him in her embrace amidst the lyrics of his friend on the stage.

He really had Izumi to thank for both her blessed performance and the effect it had on him and this woman in his embrace.

"Oh, God," Hanaru uttered, putting a finger to her lips and feeling how swelled they were when the suffocating but smoldering kiss ended. He felt his own the same way, amazed at how powerful it was like some described it would be.

Applause roared into the air when Izumi was done singing. Now he and Hanaru could give their attention and wave at her, giving her the support she deserved. She really looked lovely herself tonight - and how funny it was that she and his date were both in black! "I've really become a fan of hers officially tonight," his castmate and newest beloved breathed, pushing her hair over her shoulder. "Itachi...thank you for bringing me here. She really did a number on all of us..."

But when she looked directly into his eyes, they spoke another story altogether, because Izumi wasn't the only cause of what they had just done. He closed his own and then bowed forward to give her another - before they were interrupted.

"Oops, I'm sorry for interrupting."

Laughing, Itachi looked her way. "That's all right. Izumi, this is Hanaru. And Hanaru, Izumi is an old friend of mine from childhood."

By the looks of it, they were going to get along just fine, and that made him happy.

At the end of the night, when he was driving her back home after an exciting evening, he gave her the gift that he knew was going to make her feel like the treasure she was, more valuable than any precious gem she would have. It was a gift _within_ a gift: a palm-sized, fan-shaped scallop shell painted marble pink and rimmed with gold, sparkling with clear crystals. Inside housed a necklace which looked just like its container; it rested just above her heart like the shape of the name only upside down. Her face was composed, but her eyes were shining as if she was trying not to cry. "This is the...happiest night of my life," she croaked out, making him lean in closer and breathe back.

"As it is for me."

 **Izumi singing "Haru No Katami" - I had something better to say for that, but then I lost it. XD I mean, how can you know what to say for something as beautiful as that? The song is perfecto for Yotsuya Kaidan in the anime. Even for those who are numb to tragedy like that, since they have to be used to stuff like that.**

 **I have a friend (not my ex or even Blue Kitsune) who is numb, as I said, because he grew used to watching tragedy in every form. Not to be cold, but it's all true.**

 **Itachi and Hanaru's relationship, since I've done them for two years now and with countless fics, is really not required with so much effort or too much drama to delve into since they'd withstood enough time as it was. They are meant to be whether others object or not. :')**

 **Review please.**


	3. Tsuki No Nagame

**The reason I decided that women would also be in kabuki in the modern day was my own, free reason, though I just found out why women these days have their own brand and not alongside men: in 1629, they were banned from kabuki by the shogun because of disciplinary reasons, and young people were also prevented the same way. I personally think this is stupid. :O**

 **The irony is that a SHRINE MAIDEN, a** _ **miko,**_ **influenced this kind of entertainment. ;D**

 **Chapter title translation: "viewing of the moon".**

Chapter Three

Tsuki No Nagame

A week right after Izumi's gig, her man told her he was going to take her to meet his parents.

She was scared at first, because she'd made an effort to stay away from people like that; except at work, it was unavoidable with the only option to get along with them for the sake of production. This time was different because these were her boyfriend's _parents_ \- a woman who was her mother's best friend a long time ago, and a man whom Sasuke often spat upon with frustration and all but gave up trying to please.

"Father isn't as bad as many say," Itachi told her. "I mean, he wasn't happy when I decided I didn't want to be in the business, but he eventually came around. He might like you, since I know the kind of person you are."

So that day she found herself in a house a little larger than the one she and her father shared, and cleaner as it was traditional. Vases and paintings from the Heian period as well as screen doors. The overhead chandelier was circular brass and shaped like the lotus. Beneath it was a smartly dressed couple in black. Both dark-haired and dark-eyed like their son. The man's mane was short but touched his shoulders, his face hardly smiling which told her of years of shouldering heavy responsibility, therefore expecting it from others - including his eldest son. His wife, however, was the opposite in that she was kindly smiling, her long black hair straight and loose. The fact she was in a blazer and trousers, pink champagne gems in her ears, hinted to Hanaru that she wasn't simply a housewife, since her father said Mikoto and Kushina were ferocious women who didn't settle down for the sake of their husbands and children.

One Hanaru felt comfortable around already, since the woman recognized her as her best friend's daughter and hadn't seen her since she was a little one. _And I can't even read her husband that well; what if he doesn't like me after all?_

She tried to assure herself that Itachi knew his father well enough. And then he said this: "Itachi, this is Hanaru," he stated, rather than questioned, as he looked her over in her flattering, summery red dress, complete with the simple but elegant black watch and the mantra ring from her grandmother, and finally the pink seashell around her neck.

Bravely, she stepped up and answered herself. "Yes, sir, I'm Hanaru. Kushina and Minato's daughter," she said, glancing back to Mikoto who was trying not to cry as she thought of her old friend. The woman then left her husband's side and rushed over to cup both of her hands. The warmth made Hanaru's cheeks turn pink. "It's nice to meet you both!"

"So, it is," Fugaku noted. "I'm able to spot chemistry when I see it. I look forward to getting to know you more." Underneath, she was certain that he was going to test her. She was thinking that only to be on the safe side. Although she thought his wife's opinion mattered more than his, if he thought she wasn't suitable no matter how good she was.

Other than that, she was welcomed without too much effort.

Her worries were unfounded by the time it was all over: Fugaku told her that she was not only capable, but exactly the kind of woman he envisioned for his eldest son. "You two had better hurry up and give us grandbabies!" Mikoto added, unable to stop crying and was continually using Kleenex to clean away her tears.

There was also a problem that was serious as far as the poor woman was concerned, and it involved her younger son. Sasuke rarely came home anymore despite her saying he was welcomed. And this Fugaku admitted with a heavy sigh of guilt.

"He thinks that I don't care about him, Hanaru. It's like the way my father treated myself and my younger brother. It's easier said than done to change your ways from the past. But at least your father doesn't follow that chain link."

Now that she looked him in the eye, she saw he meant every word. So much that it made her heart clench.

"See? I told you," Itachi told her jokingly when they were back in his car, and he was taking her home before the sun was going down. "Father wasn't so bad. And Mother really adores you."

 _Except for Sasuke._ When she mentioned his brother, he sighed. "He just needs time."

"I have no idea what I ever did to him, nor do I understand why he is the way he is," she said. "And it can't be just your father, now that I think about it." Itachi smiled and leaned to kiss her cheek.

"Like I said, he could come around. He's going to have to grow up sooner or later. I don't understand myself."

That evening, she sat with her father as well as Naruto and Hinata who were invited, and she told them everything about how that day had gone. "Sister, I told you that Mom's friend would go on about grandkids! Which is what Mom herself would have done if she knew you and Itachi were serious!" her brother said with a mouthful of noodles which made her frown.

"And didn't Mom used to say to not talk with your mouth full, little brother?" He grumbled and swallowed, making Hinata giggle.

"I was worried for you," the opal-eyed girl told her. "Potential in-laws usually talk ill no matter if the couple is happy. I'm afraid of my own father always saying the same of Naruto, but I have him." She reached across her left side and wrapped her arm around his shoulder, bringing him close and making his face turn pink as Sakura Haruno's hair.

Minato chuckled at the display and then looked right at her. "You know, I was concerned at first. I thought Fugaku would be difficult, since I remember him from when we were kids. But what he said about Sasuke -" His face fell. "- I just know that emotions are complicated. Fugaku has always been difficult, but he has a good heart that he doesn't show like I do. Not afraid to admit that!" he said with a laugh that everyone shared with him.

~o~

It had to happen close to Sasuke's birthday of all times. He got the call from the police when they told him what happened during the late night. He was up that morning, with plans to head out and look for the one thing that he wanted for his beloved when he knew she was the one; he had browsed the shop online for all the options available, and the one he knew was perfect had to be seen in person. He wanted his parents present when he held her hand to show it off - but THIS had to happen.

Fugaku and Mikoto were dead.

Details: it looked like a hit-and-run in front of their own house. Blood was all over the driveway and some on the sidewalk, but the bodies were still intact. There were no witnesses, no opposing DNA to be left at the scene as to have an idea to who the perpetrator - or perpetrators - was. Although, there was evidence of a window being shattered to get the owners' attentions. That was when they both came out to investigate, by the looks of it. But there was no room for speculation as to what could have gone on in their heads during this ordeal.

Sasuke came out of his room and found his brother at the island, unable to stop his shaking. Itachi had never been out of control with his emotions, not since he was a child. So it shocked the younger to see him like this - even more when he blurted out that he got the call that their parents were gone.

However, it didn't surprise the elder that Sasuke hardly shed a tear for their father, but for their mother. And he had no idea why the lack of sorrow to follow, but he liked to think it was because of the fact his brother still considered it weakness to show his emotions. _He changed a long time ago, and I still don't know why. He won't trust me with that anymore._

 _If that's the case, why do I still put up with him, living with him like this?_

Now that their parents were gone, Itachi knew they needed each other more than ever. But what was he going to do for him now? They also each had their women, and that meant he had to tell Hanaru, whom his parents adored - as much as they adored Sakura when they met her, but it was Sasuke who said that marriage wasn't in the question anytime soon. This made his mother sad and his father sigh and mutter as to why he wondered that his youngest son couldn't do this one thing right.

Sasuke took it the wrong way and assumed he was being compared to Itachi.

"I'm sorry about your birthday, little brother."

"Why? It's not like I care about my birthday anymore anyways."

That was when he snapped at once. What resulted was one of the most heated arguments the brothers ever had. They were supposed to hold onto each other, just as they had done many times before, but it was Sasuke who had to make things harder than they had to be. Itachi didn't want to remember what they screamed about, but he was aware of what he said: his baby brother whom he held the moment he was born, protected him the best he could, supported him when their father was distant, was acting like a brat for no reason. Therefore, if Sasuke wasn't going to grow up now that their parents were gone - why did it have to come up at a time like this? - then he had to just move out and move in with Sakura since she obviously offered him many times.

Sasuke looked at him in shock, having not expected this. Nor had he thought that his brother he always admired, helped him get into the same profession as he, would just suddenly tell him he was welcome to leave if he wanted to. "I don't..." His voice failed him. "You really don't want me in your life anymore."

Itachi exhaled. "It's not that at all, Sasuke. But this has to end; I've had enough. Father loved you more than words could express, as much as Mother and I. But you never understood, so you clearly never appreciated anything we did for you. Therefore this is where the line is drawn."

He flinched when he saw the pain in his younger brother's eyes, offset by the tight anger in his features. He turned his back on him then and stalked away, but not before shouting over his shoulder to not wait up for him.

Itachi seized this opportunity to call Hanaru and tell her what happened. He cleared his throat to keep down the tears in his sore throat. So he told her everything the police told him - especially what he and Sasuke fought about. _"I'm so sorry."_ She was stifling her sobs; she'd only met his parents last week, and here she just learned they had just been... _murdered_ by a hit-and-run. _"Do you want me to come over? Dad won't mind."_

There was no way he could say no to her, so she did soon after. She held onto him after making him tea, then opening the bottle of sake she'd purchased on the way, and this was early afternoon when she offered to make them both lunch from what was in the fridge. She clicked her tongue and said she was going to get more for him now that he and Sasuke clearly weren't going to speak for a while.

"Why would he have to act like that?" Hanaru asked when she was stirring the rice on the stove; this was fried chicken, but the smell of it. "You two should need each other more than ever. He's got to grow and learn from his experiences."

Itachi sighed again, purely habitual, and nodded.

She made excellent food, so good that she would make a great wife and mother to their children. The thought made him remember that he was to go out, but he decided that he would have to put it on hold, because he had to call the funeral home for the arrangements - until an idea came to his mind. "Would you like to head out with me?" he asked, standing up. "I feel I should be out of this place before I go mad."

It seemed cruel, didn't it? Thinking about heading out for something "fun" when his parents were gone and he and Sasuke just heatedly argued. But anything for his sanity, and what was a few hours to hurt? When he told this to Hanaru, she insisted he handle the issue with his parents first.

So the day was spent when she agreed: there was a new movie that, ironically, was inspired by the stage production of _Yotsuya Kaidan_ , and spoke of the consequences of how love on and off-stage was NEVER meant to be. Somehow he regretted going to this damned picture, but his girlfriend didn't seem too depressed. She just laughed it off. "I say this is just a film. Not like it'll happen to us if we have anything to say about it."

He smiled over at her when they walked out of the theater, and now making their way down the street for none other than the jewelry shop which happened to be where she wanted to go. She loved getting out more than being on the Internet for anything. "Enjoying it with someone's company is authentic," Hanaru said. She continued to surprise him!

And it was there that he saw it, while she went browsing around at the options at the window. He had to make sure that she didn't know what he was up to, but his plan went this way: he spoke to the shopkeeper about which ring he wanted for the girl with him, except he had no idea her ring size, so as a secret, they would get her to check out the other rings which were nothing like an engagement one, since he didn't want her catching on.

"Getting me a ring or something in the future?" she asked with a twitching brow. He chuckled and kissed that spot.

"Perhaps I will. It's a surprise."

She showed him the gift she wanted to give to Izumi, as a "let's be friends gesture", since she hadn't seen the brunette since the gig: a pendant which was a sophisticated, never-ending circle glittering with diamonds. Itachi was sure his eyes sparkled when he thought of how considerate she was being.

 _She's going to love that._

But first came the grim events of arranging the funeral, then dealing with the will Fugaku had left behind for both his sons and his nephew Shisui who joked to Itachi that he had a "smoking hot bombshell for a woman"; he was lucky that he didn't have to be kicked in the groin by Hanaru when he said it for her ears to catch.

He was glad Hanaru was with him through this, but it was suffocating to be near his brother when they hadn't spoken since he raised his voice. "Darling, it'll be okay," she assured him softly, holding his hand. Then she turned her warning eyes to Sasuke. "And you, behave."

"Yes, Mom," his brother said sarcastically just before the lawyer came in, and when the old man did, what Fugaku left was more than they would have expected - especially to Itachi as he listed them off to himself even as the meeting was over before lunchtime.

 _He left Shisui the company, fulfilling my wish as well as my best friend's. This means Sasuke and I can still do whatever we want._

 _He left Sasuke a more than enough comfortable insurance. But behind Sasuke's satisfied smile...I can see it is forced. A brother knows._

And last of all: he and whatever wife he chose would have the house Fugaku and Mikoto once inhabited, as well as all its contents.

~o~

Itachi's father's will left his eldest son the house and its assets, his nephew the business - _Shisui really knows how to drop a bomb on a woman without shame! Yet I do like him_ \- and yet his youngest son only got a substantial life insurance policy. That should have been enough to make Sasuke see Fugaku DID care about him - but that distant acceptance was the last straw for her.

Her boyfriend told her Sasuke showed little emotion when he learned of their parents' deaths. How could his brother be so cold towards anything and _anyone_? Had he no shame?

She caught Sasuke after the meeting with the Uchiha family lawyer, with Itachi and Shisui behind to watch, quietly staying out of the way. "Explain yourself, Sasuke," Hanaru said angrily, grabbing him by the forearm and making him look at her. "Why are you like this? What have people done that you treat them like this - including me and your brother? I sometimes wonder why my father bothers keeping you on, and why my brother is even friends with you."

He was shocked that she had to ask him when it seemed no one else ever did, or if it happened, then he had no means to reply. "That's my business to know," he finally said icily, pulling free. "Why does anyone care what I go through? It's not like you would ever understand."

"Look, you little -" Shisui started, clearly as mad as she was, but he was held back by Itachi who had a cold look on his face.

"Shisui, this is between the two of them."

"No," Sasuke snapped. "There is nothing between us. I'm finished, as far as I am concerned, with all of you. I got what dear old Dad left me, which is basically all I could receive from him as well as being compared to my big brother - when was I never?! - and me doing anything for myself never makes a difference. What more can I do but leave my brother, just like he suggested?"

Itachi hissed, down his throat rather than his teeth. "I never should have said those words," he said finally. "I never meant them as I was just -"

Sasuke cut him off cruelly. "Just what? Oh, you think I don't know? Too busy thinking how we lost our parents and yet here I am, still a painful reminder that you can't deal with, because let's face it!"

"Because I still love you, little brother," Itachi burst finally, "and yet here you are, being the child you were back then, and a complete stranger that I can't even cope with no matter the best I could do for you!" His face was struggling not to twist as he fought to keep his emotions in place. Hanaru's instincts acted out as she rushed to his side, taking a hand into hers and keeping it in place, scowling but not looking at the overgrown brat anymore.

 _I wonder if Naruto could beat some sense into him like he used to say he would._

The commotion was heard by the Uchiha lawyer who warned them that this had to end right now, or else security would remove them. Sasuke huffed and turned to stalk the hell out of their presence, leaving her to hold onto Itachi because he was affected to the point of shattering inside because of this treatment. Shisui sighed sharply and shook his head, muttering what a spoiled brat that was.

~o~

Hanaru told him she would talk to her father about his brother, but that meant Minato would either have no choice but to release Sasuke, except these things happened off-stage. The issue would be that it could carry on through work when it came to rehearsals. Thus Minato had no choice but to choose a new play that would not include Sasuke this time.

 _Tenshu Monogatari_ consisted of only one act, but it was a fine tale of forbidden love which conquered all. _A human and a fairy princess - but what can you say of it compared to western counterparts?_ Itachi was given the role of Zushonosuke, the male lead who was a falconer, whilst his beloved was Tomihime, the fairy princess who lived up in Himeji's magical White Castle. The rest of the cast consisted of Hinata as Kamehime - another fairy princess - and Kakashi as Takeda Harima, the lord in which Itachi's character served under.

Minato wanted rehearsals to begin as soon as possible, and then the play would be staged in time for the autumn season. "I expect exceptional work from every single one of you as usual," was all he said as he smiled with strong faith.

This was how the story went, in stark contrast to _Yotsuya Kaidan_ : Princess Tomi guarded a sacred lion head at the topmost of the castle, observing the world below with her numerous attendants; they traveled about on clouds. Then one day, Tomi would find a beautiful white falcon and give it as a gift to a fellow fairy princess, Kame, who resided in Lake Inawashiro and was attended by hobgoblins. She would eventually be surprised by the appearance of the handsome young Zushonosuke - a falconer who served Lord Takeda Harima. This was perhaps the first time she would see someone who dared to venture to the forbidden castle and its topmost, darkest tower. He'd been ordered by his master to seek out the lost falcon. Infuriated and endangered, the princess ordered him to leave and never return - not even to report what he saw - but he did come back, only because of the dark falling as well as monsters in the woods.

All it took for Princess Tomi to fall in love with Zushonosuke was him returning for a light, hence she tried to persuade him to stay, but Zushonosuke had to return because of duty. She then gave him a helmet she'd stolen from his lord, so that it would be proof of where he'd been...but it ended up doing the opposite, in which Harima accused his own falconer of being a thief.

Third time was the charm when Zushonosuke once again climbed to the dark tower - with intentions of his beloved Tomi to end his life, declaring he would rather be dead by her hands rather than Harima and his soldiers. But she ended up doing the opposite, saving his life by hiding him underneath a cloth that covered the lion head she guarded.

The end was a happily ever after: the soldiers stabbed the lion head's eyes with their spears, somehow blinding both lovers, until their sight was rescued by Tôroku the sculptor - this time being Naruto, who nailed rasping the old man voice and character - and only then did they live out in peace.

If Zushonosuke could be drawn to the otherworldly woman, then so was Itachi when he looked upon the beauty in the kimono which was eerily similar to Oiwa, yet not: white, covered with red cherry blossoms, and the sleeves and hem lined with black which had white blossoms. She was a princess - HIS princess on and off this stage.

Rehearsal lasted a few weeks before Itachi mustered the courage to talk to Minato and show him his plan of purchase on his mobile. The man's eyes sparkled in delight, but then it turned serious. "I promise, if you do anything to my daughter -"

"Your worries are unfounded, Minato," he said with solemn seriousness. "I thought you knew me better than that."

"Just making sure," Minato answered with a grin.

~o~

Acting she loved since she was a little girl. And to become a fairy princess was a dream come true, especially when this was a version of Romeo and Juliet which ended on a "happily ever after" note. What better than with the man she loved outside the story?

The funeral of his parents came and went. His relationship with his brother was strained and distant outside the stage, which continued for the sake of the theatre. When she confided this information to Naruto and Hinata, her brother scowled and grunted, saying that he wished he could beat Sasuke for this, but Hinata worriedly said that it was scary they couldn't figure anything out about the man they once called a friend.

"What if his parents dying finally caused this side of him to come out - or is it something else?"

She was right; that was a scary question that had no answer, but if Sasuke didn't want to get help, there was nothing they could do about it. Except she worried about poor Sakura Haruno, if she was taking her boyfriend's behavior.

Flashforward to the moment that was none other than the viewing of the moon in the middle of September - the Tsukimi Festival. Four days of radiant moonlight, consumption of white _dango_ which was beautifully stacked to the top - and placed on altars as offerings to the moon - decorum of susuki grass as well as chestnuts and _udon_ noodles filled with raw eggs, because the cracked egg represented the full moon.

Hanaru picked a dress which was light and heavy at the same time: flowing, soft indigo which was like the skies, and it had lacing in the front as well as delicate embroidery on the hem. Itachi's sweater and jeans matched, having no need for show, but it wasn't like she thought of it either. She made fresh white dumplings herself to bring out to the special place he was taking her, and share it with him on the location's lush bridge.

Kōhaku Castle was where the Uchiha in feudal days once resided. Itachi's family descended from samurai and were thus treated with the same respect as their ancestors. Hanaru's breath was taken away by the pristine structure underneath the moonlight which also made the red-painted bridge glimmer. A small flotilla of swans swam under and out, a few of them breaking off into pairs. _Imagine if this place was viewed in spring, when the cherry blossoms would be alive with fresh rosy pink._

"Hanaru," Itachi breathed as they watched the scene, accompanied by their brothers and their significant others - but Sasuke keeping his distance, Sakura looking at them with a sympathetic, sorrowful eye - who were also enjoying the light breeze which waved the tall grass, feeding each other and of course Naruto mouthing off noodles which made Hinata giggle hysterically.

She looked back up at him, cheeks flushed in the wind. "Itachi," she replied, laying her head against his chest, accepting a rice ball from his fingers, licking it up happily. He chuckled and brought that hand away to reach behind him. She was the one holding the box, so she watched as he took out something from behind his pocket -

\- and what he brought out made her nearly drop the pink package. "Is that...?"

"Yes," he breathed, opening it. The little thing was porcelain white, hexagonal and clicked tightly with a crystalline heart. Inside was a petite yellow band showcasing a large, marquise moissanite - that couldn't have been a diamond, because diamonds didn't double release the light that blazed within - with a matching wedding ring.

The night of the full moon was when he asked her to be his wife, and she said yes.

 _ **Tenshu Monogatari**_ **is a kabuki which inspired the segment "Goddess of the Dark Tower" in Ayakashi the anime. Tells of the forbidden romance between a human man and a demon princess.**

 **The movie Itachi and Hanaru saw was "Over Your Dead Body" (2014). I saw only the trailer, not the whole movie because I can't find it. :( Though it is a movie with a cast telling a modern version of the famed ghost story and what happens when love and work lives collide on stage. It's said to be grim, tragic but beautiful.**

 **Kōhaku** **Castle - the name means "red and white", as in the Uchiha fan we know. :)**

 **I noticed NO ONE reviewed, favorited or even followed so far. :'( Except for one.**


	4. Shinjitsu No Koi

**Right now I am suffering depression because my father started drinking again when he has LIVER CANCER. He was ordered by the doctor to stop altogether for six months before he was going to be told if he'd be eligible for transplant or not, and he just up and ruined five months of peace. :'(**

 **The last of "Haru No Katami" is present - except one more part which will be in the next chapter.**

 **Chapter title translation: "true love".**

Chapter Four

Shinjitsu No Koi

Barely even two years of happiness passed. Itachi considered not keeping track of time for the hell of it, but everything that happened was too important not to.

He and Hanaru were married in the middle of the spring that followed, but if only his parents had been there to see it happen. It had to take place on the bridge of Kōhaku Castle - his ancestors' residence, and the very place he proposed during moon-viewing. It was her idea before he could even say it out loud. Could have been when cherry blossom time was in play, so they were lucky when it was the last day and there were enough pink flowers in the trees to shower down on them as they took their vows.

He didn't pay attention at the time to what she looked like from head to toe in explicit details, but he did spot instantly first the bouquet of blue roses in her hands - _because I gave them to her when I first courted her_ \- and then that dress which was suitable for a dinner party instead, but it was lavished with the heavy silk of a kimono: white regally lined with red, splashed with blue clouds and water as well as red and white camellias over an underdress of gold brocade. It stopped at her knees, bared her lovely neck and shoulders, and she walked on low heels bedecked with iridescent sequined flowers. Her father looked her up and down with a shine in his eyes, unable to believe his daughter had grown up.

She was a goddess, and he personally would have asked her to keep her hair down - but he also loved it the way she had it sleeked into a bun accented with delicate freshwater pearls on branches, resembling winterberries, and showing off the blue gems in her ears. _Blue as her eyes._

They were united as husband and wife on the other end of the bridge, and what was special was that her grandfather, Jiraiya, did the job and was fighting to not cry too much. On this side of the bridge, where the witnesses watched, the castle was before their eyes and its ancestors observing the union of one of their descendants and his bride. A day to remember it was going to be, but there wouldn't be paparazzi taking pictures of their personal day.

He had Shisui as his best man, she had Hinata as her maid of honor - and in the crowd were both their brothers, but while one was bawling his eyes out, the other was straight-faced. Itachi really wanted Sasuke present despite their estrangement, but they hadn't spoken since the elder announced his engagement to the woman he loved. "You should hurry and ask Sakura now that I have," he said, hoping to lighten it up, but all he got was narrowed eyes and a scowl.

Itachi had no idea what trigger he had pulled.

Izumi and her mother, Hazuki, were also there. In fact, Hazuki made the cake which appeared at the reception inside the castle, when the clouds began to darken, threatening rain. When it did come, it was viewed as a symbol of plenty of renewal throughout their marriage, even if it seemed gloomy at the present.

Back to the cake, which made its way into their personal album: ivory with bronze Buddhist lotuses as well as the many faces of a goddess, topped with freshly plucked pink water flowers. He couldn't thank his old friend and her mother enough as he couldn't thank her enough for being here for him when he needed her - and he meant every word. Her eyes sparkled as she thanked him - and just like the endless circle of light from Hanaru around her neck - and wished him a happy marriage like everyone else. She and Hanaru even kissed each other on the cheek.

"Welcome into the family, brother-in-law!" Naruto crowed, crushing him nearly to the bone.

Then came "son-in-law" from none other than the man who was also his employer. He was with a new family, one that he loved back - but the one of his real family left was distant and cool, yet no one else paid him mind since they wanted nothing to do with any drama today.

The newlyweds moved into the house his parents left them right after their honeymoon in Hokkaido. What they were greeted with was nothing that changed at all, and Hanaru said she didn't want to change much of anything, because it was everything she wanted - except the master bedroom was another story.

"Oh, wonderful fireplace!" Hanaru cried when they found themselves in the living room, taking in the arrangement of a few shelves of DVDs, another few of books, all beneath a modern flatscreen. The black table lamps functioned by a simple tap of three times for brightness and then off. Every table and shelf was old-fashioned, faded oak which she thought was warm and inviting. On the walls were ancient scenic paintings, from magnolias to Mt. Fuji and blossoms, finally a battle of the Uchiha samurai against their enemies - none other than the Senju, who were distant relatives of the Uzumaki.

 _Both of us from good samurai families._

Going onto more pieces of art: tall floor lamps with three shelves of modern, bright blown-glass vases. The floors they walked on were covered by optic-patterned rugs, and eventually they found themselves in the kitchen in which a brass _shoji_ lamp set strung overhead amid walls of neutral-toned tiles, marble countertops and a dining table, and stainless steel appliances.

And then they got to the bedroom which they ended up refurnishing themselves. The simple, stormy blue and gray tones were replaced with a quilt covered about with red, white and black damask medallions, with crisp white sheets beneath. The luxurious marble-inlaid wooden bedside tables were each topped with a touch lamp crafted masterfully into a real, crystalline lotus flower that closed when turned off, and opened when lit up. "I love it, I love it!" his happy bride shouted, throwing herself atop when it was all done, and he flopped on with her, laughing and rolling about in celebration.

It was by October that they discovered they would expect their first child - around the same time as his Uncle Naruto's birthday - who was born by July the following year, early in the month before his Uncle Sasuke's birthday.

Ren was the name Itachi and his beloved chose for their precious boy. To look upon him - his mother's bright blue eyes as well as his father's hair and face! He was fawned over by everyone who got to see him, and even Sakura who took care of his wife told him that she was jealous, sans malice - Sasuke not even present to experience this kind of joy. Which left the torch to Naruto to spoil his nephew rotten.

Minato doted on his grandson, cooing and rocking him back and forth as if not wanting to let him go, EVER. "If I had my way, I would take him and run," he joked before earning a slap on the back from his son who said that the kid should go back to his mother, who was tired but otherwise doing well.

Though it wasn't to last.

His wife was fine at first, but the next day, she started displaying symptoms like occasional dizziness, fatigue, and a headache here and there. Sometimes it was hard to breathe. She even had some cramping below her stomach, which Sakura said was normal after childbirth. "But not like this," she said with a frown. "I don't like what I'm seeing..."

And that wasn't all, for the pinkette also discovered after further examination that Hanaru's limbs would become numb unexpectedly. "She's lost some circulation," Sakura told them; she referred not only to Itachi, but also to Minato, Naruto and Hinata. "And that means after she's discharged, she has to be confined to bedrest until she's healed, and she can come back here if there is another serious emergency. Right now, nothing of the sort."

At least the loss of circulation didn't go right for her heart, and that would have meant high blood pressure and terrible chest pains. No treatment would result in a heart attack or a stroke.

So she was discharged five days later, and here she was at home now, a week later with no change in condition. Sakura prescribed her medication to help with the circulation, but she hadn't yet gotten it to the pharmacy. Though Hanaru was taken care of in the time she was in the emergency room.

"How is...my brother?" he asked of the woman in her black dress and blushing jacket which matched her hair, that day he was going to take his wife and newborn son home. She exhaled and told him that Sasuke was doing work elsewhere.

After he and Hanaru got married, his brother up and left the theatre, even moved out of the flat the brothers once shared to be with his girlfriend, but she had no idea what he was doing now, and she didn't ask him. He just wanted time to adjust and think things over. "I respected his wishes," Sakura told him, and that was enough to make Itachi's brain gears shift.

 _Why won't my brother come home anymore? Why does he have to treat us like this? He quits the one thing he loves most, because of me and Hanaru, and no one knows what he's doing with his life - not even Sakura whom he lives with._

"Sakura," he said, "perhaps you should consider leaving him if things are bad between you two. My brother isn't the brother that I used to know, and you must have seen that."

It wasn't his place to tell another to leave one they cared about, but if his brother was further withdrawing into himself, including giving up those he loved as well as his career - a career that Itachi got into thanks to him - then Sakura deserved better than this. And of course, her answer was expected: "Yes, Sasuke has a change, but I believe that the Sasuke we both know and love is still there somewhere. He just doesn't realize it, but if he does, then he's only reacting in a way to defend himself. I don't have to be a psychiatrist to know that." Though her bright eyes which were much darker to the core told another story.

Itachi wanted so much to believe her, but what else could they do? He decided to leave things as they were and just focus on his ailing wife and their new son.

The baby's room had been set up, but until Hanaru was well again, their child's little bed was placed at the foot of theirs, because his angel was fiercely protective even though they could put in a walkie so they could hear Ren crying if he needed anything. But so far he was a good baby, crying only once during the night, going back to sleep after a few hours. He'd lost a good night's sleep rocking his boy whom he was proud to have in his arms. The precious boy combined of him and the mother who still managed to hold him despite her arms sometimes losing their strength.

Minato had such unusual but helpful advice about taking care of an infant who wailed constantly for attention, even when they didn't need a diaper change or feeding, but they would know you were there, and if you left them alone, they would just stop crying. It made them learn to adapt to the fact their parents wouldn't always be there.

But their happiness was filled with a few problems. Besides the fact Fugaku left them the house and more than enough to make them comfortable for the rest of their lives, Itachi felt he still had to work, because he was responsible. His wife could still return whenever she was well again, except she felt like a burden, she said, because here she was useless and relying on others to do anything she wanted. She could get up sometimes, but then the numbness in her limbs would kick in, and she had to hurry and sit or lay down again. It was painful to watch her suffer, but he tried to remind himself that this wouldn't last, that it wasn't going to kill her.

 _We're going to make it work. I promise you both._

~o~

What a pain in the ass it was to carry a baby and then finally to give birth following fourteen hours of labor - and then be pained with numb limbs, headaches in the mornings that came unexpectedly, and everything that happened due to loss of circulation.

She and Itachi had such a happy marriage, their little boy being worth all the trouble, but sometimes she felt so depressed. It was pleasure to cradle her baby against her breast, but she could hardly do what she loved, or even care for Ren the way she should. Hinata and Izumi, separately or sometimes together, would come by during the day to spend time with her and Ren while Itachi was away, or even give them what they needed. A nurse from the hospital full-time was not something Itachi wanted for her, because he didn't trust any strangers with his family for his own reasons.

Hanaru didn't, either, in their house or with their baby boy. So that was why his friend and hers were perfect for occasional visits. Groceries weren't a problem because they could be ordered over the phone and brought in the house.

Itachi - oh, how lucky was she to have a wonderful man like him who could be so patient and lay beside her in the same bed, cradle their son between them as he told her how his day was and asked her how she was doing, and she would say the same thing.

"I keep getting worse - by night mostly. Though during day I'm okay." She would close her eyes as she felt the drowsiness return, and leaned into her husband's warmth. His arms would pull her close and let her lay her head against his chest before she fell asleep. Their son would be in his little bed by this time. And she would rouse back to awareness when he would cry.

Today she sat upright one Saturday in July, in her sapphire satin robe and black slip, sewing a kimono-like garment for Ren; the final planned result would be navy blue with the red-and-white fan on the back. It wasn't every day an Uchiha wore their samurai family crest on their clothes today. She was in the love chair in the living room, a window opened to let in humid air which moistened the skin, knitting while her husband was cradling the baby opposite her, occasionally looking at her and smiling.

Playing on the radio was none other than the song that brought them together, performed by none other than Izumi Miyazaki herself.

 _A party of fluttering, dancing blossoms_

 _Make the moon stop its orbit_

 _without being afraid of losing their way_

 _they just keep flowing_

"Can't ever get enough of that, can you?" Itachi teased, making her laugh.

"Why should I? This is important because reasons," she answered after a couple more loops of stitches. _Almost done!_

Itachi chuckled and stood up, baby still in arms, and went over to sit on the armrest to her left, spooning up to her and causing her to nearly prick her finger and curse him out for distracting her from the final stitch. "Itachi, I swear if you make me ruin this -"

He interrupted her by pressing a gentle kiss on her lips, then brought it back to look down at her work as the last of the song was playing in the background. "How much is left?"

 _As I rest my body against your chest_

 _I relinquish my life_

 _Before I can no longer breathe or see_

 _I think of nobody but you_

The last stitch went through at the same time as her answer. "All finished." She put down her sewing kit and then held the entire little robe up for his eyes. They sparkled with impression and pride at both her skill and the fact their son would love it even if he was too young to appreciate it right now. Tomorrow would be the day he would wear it for the first time, rather than today.

Tomorrow would also be the day Itachi was bringing home her long-awaited medicine.

~o~

Later that Saturday, Minato found time to stop by and check up on his daughter who was still sick, and it saddened the man to see her like this. But then his grandson brightened everything up. "Come to Grandpa, big boy!" he would always say before picking up the happily cooing baby underneath the arms and holding him close.

There was also more wonderful news: Naruto announced that he and Hinata were engaged, but a date was yet to be set, and they were yet to break it to the rest of the studio and the town. "How do you like that, brother-in-law, sister?" he loudly said, enough to make the baby start crying when he was about to be rocked to sleep by his father, and his sister was still threatening from the chair, with Minato and Itachi himself watching with disapproval.

"Naruto, if I wasn't in this chair or up in bed, I would smash your skull to the cranium if you didn't keep your voice down."

Minato whistled. "Temper just like her mother AND her grandmother," he said with a stifled laugh and a gulp in one as he remembered his late wife's tantrums when he spoiled their kids too much. Now Itachi found himself dwelling on the possible future riddled with similarities...

"So, Itachi, my father is working on a new love play, and when it's finished, we get to work in time for the season coming. In time for Tanabata," Minato said with a twinkle in his eyes.

 _The festival of the star-crossed lovers. Is Jiraiya's new piece going to be inspired by the event and its myth?_

Hanaru smiled up at him. "How's Grandpa these days?"

Naruto did the job of answering that. "Just like the old man to be around as many pretty girls as he can at his age," he said with a roll of the eyes. "But he always has the best plays ever - more than any girl who puts down love scenes for the sake of it!" This would often be a debate between brother and sister, as to which gender did the best romantic, erotic scenes in any number and in technical form, but Itachi stepped in this time to end it.

"Does it matter who does it? What matters is the final result, good or bad," Itachi stated with finality, smirking to one corner of his mouth at his job done of silencing his wife and brother-in-law. Minato chuckled at the scene, before turning back to baby Ren who had by this time passed out like a log.

Next day was when it finally happened, both Naruto and Minato relieved for the woman they both loved as much as him, and that was heading to the pharmacy to pick up his wife's medication to help with the circulation. He had a lunch date with Shisui who finally managed to make the time to share with him the latest in person while he would do the same. His cousin was his best friend since all their lives.

 _"Hanaru is still bedridden?"_ Shisui had asked last time, then fell silent for a moment when the answer was yes. _"That worries me, because I have no understanding of women after pregnancy. She'd better not die on you and the kid!"_

He didn't want to disagree, but he didn't want his wife to die either. She was too precious for him to lose just like he lost his parents - just like he lost his brother, even though Sasuke still lived. Their son didn't deserve to be without his mother.

He tried not to think about such morbid things, but at the back of his mind, Itachi thought of how...eerily similar things had happened like _Yotsuya Kaidan._ Hanaru brought them a son, but now she was stricken down with loss of circulation and its symptoms, just like her character. But Itachi had to close his mind to such thoughts. It couldn't be true; it just couldn't. It was only a story.

Or was it?

When he got back to the house, he recognized not only Izumi's car, but Hinata Hyuuga's. The former's was in the back, and she was coming out, wearing a navy t-shirt and jeans - and in her arms another basket of flowers. She really loved them more than any in a vase; said it was home and comfort. _And a sweet fairytale_. Ivy creeped over the edges, and around the white waxflowers, orange and pink roses. "Izumi, this is a nice surprise."

"Well, you both could use cheering up - especially Hanaru," she replied, her eyes falling to the small white paper bag in his hand. "As for you, you'd better give that to her since she needs it more than ever."

He laughed. Was she his and Hanaru's doctor now or what? Or was she like his mother? That was always her to be too protective, even when they were kids, but he really did need it. "I have to go and hurry. Shisui asked me to have lunch with him, so we can catch up," he said, earning a bulge of both eyes before they narrowed.

"Big boy, I wouldn't leave your woman and little boy without a goodbye kiss!" Izumi huffed, opening the door with one hand and ushering him inside as if he were a cat. Holding back a laugh, he went inside, hearing bustle in the kitchen, telling him Hinata was there. Hanaru was lounging against the love chair, with Ren in her arms, his head against his mother's breast. Walking over, he gave her a gentle kiss to the forehead before laying the small bag in her lap.

"Just one a day, but after you've had a meal."

"I knew it would be, Itachi," Hinata said when she came in with a large mug of miso as well as a rice ball. "She'll be fine now, won't you, Hanaru?"

She smiled. "Yeah, I will be. You go have fun, baby. Say goodbye to Daddy," she cooed to Ren whose eyes were blinking open and shut on occasion. Smiling, Itachi knelt down and laid another on the boy's forehead, inhaling the fresh scent of him.

Neither of them had no idea what doom lay within that seemingly innocent bottle still in Hanaru's lap. A fate that paralleled too much to a certain tragedy that played an immense part in their lives.

 **Loss of circulation leads indeed to numbness, drowsiness, unexplained headaches, cramps, and even for the heart there would be the risk of chest pains, high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke. Oiwa was said to have suffered from circulation difficulties in the 1959 film and "Ayakashi", but nothing elaborated to modern standards. There isn't a lot of intel either for any version of** _ **Yotsuya Kaidan.**_

 **Miyazaki being Izumi's surname as she isn't directly related to Itachi - she was named so in another fic of mine, "The Dress and the Big Day" (after a certain someone). :)**

 **Here we come now with the downward spiral in which there will be no path of return. (cold sweat) Review and stay tuned, since I noticed there are STILL no love and feedback.**


	5. Shi Made

**Be warned of trigger content and frightening images.**

 **Chapter title translation: "till death".**

Chapter Five

Shi Made

He got the call when he and Shisui were in the tea shop enjoying dango and green tea, and what he heard was something that had to be a nightmare if not the real world. Something he prayed with his heart to the gods wasn't happening, but it wasn't answered.

Izumi was frantic, hysterical, and it always involved when someone's life was in danger. His heart turned to ice when she rushed it all out: _"I-Itachi! Hanaru, she's - I don't know what happened! She took her first pill, and just now she's...she's screaming and on the floor! I called the ambulance to take her to the hospital!"_

In other words, she didn't know what was yet wrong with his wife, but they were all at Konoha General, waiting for him. "I'm coming!" Itachi shouted, hanging up fast and looking down at his cousin. "My wife is in the hospital!"

Shisui looked up at him in horror. "My God, it can't be happening?!" What he meant was Hanaru...

 _Pray we're wrong!_ The thought kept going through his head over and over as he raced to the hospital, taking care to not cause a collision before he could get to the woman of his life. When he arrived, he screeched into the closest parking spot he could find, making sure it wasn't a handicapped area, and ignored the shouts and curses after him, running through the front door and reached the reception desk. He was so desperate that he shouted at the top of his lungs. "Hanaru Uchiha?!"

"I-in the ER, sir. Dr. Haruno is with her. Are you her husband?" He nodded, almost slamming his head on the counter, wishing he could just get there before his heart exploded.

When he found himself in the waiting room, there were the girls, Hinata holding Ren whom she was trying to calm down in her arms, and Naruto with a frightened expression, while his father was utterly depressed and worried for his daughter.

"Itachi, you're here!" Minato said when he saw him, face softening and unsmiling. He took Itachi's hand into his and led him over to sit in the small circle of chairs.

"What happened to her?" he demanded, looking at every one of them and waiting for one of them to talk.

He hadn't seen Izumi the way she was since they were younger, when she lost her father, and her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy beneath from crying, while Hinata was still shedding perfect tears that soaked her blouse. "She ate what Hinata made her so that she could take her meds, right after you left," she answered. "And it was...horrible. An hour after she took it, she collapsed and screamed that her throat was burning." She took a few breaths to calm down. "I didn't stay for the rest so that I could call the ambulance."

"I was with her," Hinata managed, blinking in order to stop the floodgates, having to keep the baby with both arms. It was then that he saw her hand against his son's back, wearing that ring from Naruto: a cushion-shaped sapphire against wispy silver vines etched with marquise emeralds as leaves, like a real forget-me-not flower. But he couldn't congratulate her at a time like this, and she knew that. "She wailed for water, crawled across the floor and broke a nail or two. Ren was crying, but I couldn't take care of him while his mother was suffering. I don't know what happened to her any more than Izumi..." She trailed off and looked first at the woman herself then to Naruto and Minato as if to silently say she was sorry with her eyes, then back to Itachi to do the same.

By this time, his heart had grown to subzero temperatures. Neither woman knew what happened to his wife, but it happened after she took the first of her medication after he left, and an hour later, THIS happened.

"Sounds like my sister was poisoned," Naruto said through his teeth, glaring at the floor in front of him. "What other explanation could there be?"

"For God's sake," Minato said in disbelief and disgust, "if you're right, how dare whoever did this poison my daughter!" He looked ready to have blood drawn, and very rarely did anyone see him like that, so Itachi confessed he was a little intimidated.

 _I would love nothing but the same thing as you._

Sakura appeared not long after, a grim expression on her face. Whatever it was, it wasn't good, and Itachi began to fear Shisui's suspicions...until the pinkette assured everyone Hanaru would live, but that wasn't the end of it. "It looks like she was poisoned, so the police will be on their way. Itachi, as her spouse, you can go in first to see her now that she's been sedated and given pain relief. Minato and Naruto?"

His father-in-law stood up along with his brother-in-law, both wanting to see her as much as he. They were family while Izumi and Hinata were just friends, except the latter would soon be one of them. So she went with while his childhood friend stayed with the pink-haired doctor to answer more questions.

"Oh, God, sister!" Naruto slapped his hand over his mouth and turned away, stifling the gagging sounds he was making. His father, on the other hand, did the same before clearing his throat and forced himself to look upon his own daughter who he wished he could help. And Hinata, who had by this time gotten the baby to fall asleep, was on the verge of crying again.

Itachi let himself look last. And what he saw caused him to gasp so sharply his eardrums might have rattled. His heart jumped against his sternum and turned away, not from disgust, but horror and heartbreak.

 _Oh, Hanaru...oh, God..._

~o~

The pain was horrible when it finally happened.

It was in an ordinary way that turned brutal within an hour's time. She was sipping a cup of tea while Izumi had the baby, Hinata getting a good film she rented ready, when the burning in her throat began.

She had no idea what was going on around her, other than her head spinning as the burning throughout the entirety of her body began, and it erupted with an agony she couldn't describe when she hit the floor, aware of only her teacup smashing and splattering everywhere. She screamed for water, hearing Izumi shriek into her phone that they needed an ambulance, that SHE was in pain, had taken her medication and they had no idea why she was suffering, but she had to get to the ER at once.

She managed to accept the cold glass from Hinata who now had the screaming baby in one arm as she knelt before her friend who struggled to close her fingers around the crystal, before managing to bring it to her lips and downing it all without choking.

She lost consciousness after that, the glass breaking in her hold, but she didn't feel any cuts or blood. Nothing but the distant cries of her name from the other women...fearing for her son who was still wailing...

...and then she found herself rousing to awareness. Needles poked into her veins, tape pulling a little on her skin, and she was covered with thin crisp and a warm few blankets. And she wasn't alone either. Blinking her blurred eyes, she saw the faces of the people standing at the foot of her bed - _and I'm in the hospital._

Her father and brother were there, as was Hinata with the baby - but most of all, her husband was there, and he came to kneel beside her. "Hanaru! My angel, you're alive!"

Hanaru winced at the throbbing of her head. "Itachi, don't speak so loud." It was then that she noticed the looks on the faces of the rest of the family: a myriad from sadness to grave concern. She frowned at them; why were they all looking at her like that? "Why are you guys...?"

"Well, you gave us a hell of a scare, big sister," Naruto said. "Sakura told us -" He was interrupted by Hinata.

"Maybe it's best we not tell her like she told us."

Suspicion rose in the patient herself. What were they keeping from her that Sakura instructed them not to, when their faces were struggling to keep it in? "I think I deserve to know," Hanaru rasped, feeling her throat dry despite having water the last she remembered. How much time had passed?

It was then that she noticed something...strange about her face that she hadn't before. It was covered with bandages, but the mouth was opened for her to breathe. "Did something...happen to my face?"

The question was answered when her dad held a handheld mirror to her face - and she was gifted with the sight of her face wrapped up like a mummy, except her eyes and her mouth in a slit. Her heart began to pound with horrible ideas as to what was wrong...

"Angel, don't fret," Minato told her, running his hand across her forehead, which had lost some locks towards the crown, partially...BALD. Ignoring his words, Hanaru pulled herself from his hold and looked up at him, impatient for the answer. Sighing, he told her what happened to her. "You were poisoned, Hanaru. Sakura drew some blood and found it in your system. But the good news is you're not going to die," he said with a tight smile that didn't reach his eyes.

Hanaru felt hers widen in horror. Someone tried to... _poison and kill her?!_ "Who did it?" she demanded, looking back at the others.

"It was none of us," Hinata said quietly, "but police are looking into it right now. They were waiting until you were awake to ask you some questions. If you feel like talking."

It sounded like a good idea, but she felt so sick she could barely move, and if she did, she was going to throw up like the many times she did when she was pregnant. Briefly, when she saw Ren in Hinata's arms, she smiled before turning to look back at her husband who took her hand into his. Warmth washed over her skin and her nerves.

"We're gonna come back when we can, sis," Naruto told her, finally forcing a small grin on his face. "Sakura said she was going to keep you overnight for more observation now that the worst part was over."

Worst part? If the monstrous pain wasn't enough, what about her FACE when she would see it? It still felt like something was wrong, if someone...

Who would do this to her? She never did anything to anyone! Why did she deserve this?

The man who came to talk to her turned out to be none other than Ibiki Morino, and of course she answered the best she could. She didn't know anyone who would want her dead, and her husband would never do such a thing. "Well, in any case like this, the spouse is always suspected just to rule out," the detective replied. "But if he didn't do it, we're looking into the pharmacy activities. It'll take some time, so I wish I could guarantee when we have the bastard - or bitch," he added with a humorless chuckle.

"I don't know why," Hanaru said with a little moan. "I don't remember doing anything to anyone."

Morino nodded somberly as he looked over her bandaged face. "Believe me, I could never think of a solid motive myself. But when we catch the perpetrator, I'll make them _sing._ I'll make sure, Itachi."

"Thank you." Her man's hand tightened around hers for emphasis, but not enough to break her bones. If he did that, she would leave a mark so red it would turn black and blue on his pretty little face.

So here was what the deal was: someone had switched out her medication Sakura prescribed - her doctor and brother-in-law's girlfriend also questioned but ruled out as she _specifically_ ordered the type for her patient's circulation and nothing else - in place of poison ivy extract in the form! But there was no one she could think of who would try to kill her only to fail...but then one person did come to mind, and it earned disbelief from her husband. It was just an idea and nothing else, as much as it pained her to say it.

"Sasuke."

"Hanaru!" Itachi was shocked, but how could he not be? _And why wouldn't he think Sasuke couldn't be capable of something like this?_

Even Ibiki looked skeptical. "Mrs. Uchiha, what makes you think your brother-in-law could be involved in this?" So, she told him a short version involving their history and how they hadn't seen or heard from him since the wedding and Sasuke quitting her father's studio. When she was done, he hummed in consideration. "We'll find him and talk to him, see if he knows anything." Clearing his throat, he stood up. "I'll keep you both up to date. Meantime, you have my best wishes - and congratulations on your son."

Ren whom he mentioned lay sleeping in his carrier, between his father in the visitor's chair and his mother in her bed, still hooked to machines and bandaged. He stirred and yawned but otherwise remained asleep. "Thank you, Detective," Hanaru said before the door closed to them.

"Hanaru," Itachi said now that they were alone, "why would you think my brother would have anything to do with this? I know what a spoiled brat he was, misunderstood, but to be capable of..." He trailed off, shaking his head.

"I know, I don't think so either," she said, though doubted her own words. "But if we want to find whoever did this, then Detective Morino needs a good list to narrow it down. If Sasuke isn't the one, then I'm sorry."

He smiled then, leaning over and placing a kiss on the place where some of her hair had fallen off due to the toxin.

Her time in the hospital was almost the same as when she gave birth and then after, but different reasons. It wasn't fun, but it could have been worse, except she couldn't think of anything else...and when it finally came to the time for her bandages to be removed - the job done by Sakura herself with the help of a nurse named Yoko - their expressions were of sheer alarm, making her demand a mirror to see what the damage was that was still there...

...and she instantly regretted she asked. She was almost glad Itachi didn't see her, even though he eventually would.

Not only was she bald towards the front, but her right cheek was pinkish, flaked a little as if it had been peeling - and her left brow was drooping over her eye but not completely covering it; her mouth corner in that side was tugged a little to show her teeth.

She ended up screaming at the top of her lungs that it could have been heard all over town, even causing the birds to take flight. The words which deserved to be spoken by the woman she played once.

"Is this... _MY FACE_?!"

~o~

Sakura's call while he was at the studio made him jump from the chair and tell everyone what happened in the latest - _I only saw bandages, not what was beneath them_ \- and that his wife was in distress, but not immediate danger. When the word reached the director's ears, his father-in-law nearly dropped his clipboard.

"Go see her at once, Itachi." It was a harsh order not directly to blame him, but Itachi harshly nodded. He was lucky that no costumes were made, that the script was completed, so he left in a flash.

He had no time to collect Ren, who was staying with Izumi and her mother for the day. Sakura said it was urgent because as soon as they removed Hanaru's face wrappings, she went hysterical and was still curled up, hiding beneath the blankets to cover her face. _"She feels that you're going to not look at her or...touch her again,"_ the pinkette said, sounding like she was trying to remain professional and strong.

Itachi arrived in the knick of time at the hospital. She was standing outside Hanaru's room, arms tight across her chest, and in her lab coat. "Don't say anything that upsets her," she warned despite her relief that he was here. He nodded and opened the door to go into the room - and then he saw just what she said: Hanaru's form was curled up beneath the hospital blankets, but she was still attached to the IV and monitors without breaking the needles.

 _I think I know now...the poison left her looking like something else. It's too much like..._

He stopped himself from saying THAT name in his head, because how could that story collide with real life like this? Someone clearly begrudged him and his wife, or one of them, so a real person was to blame - unless they thought it ironic to use _Yotsuya Kaidan_ for their sick game.

"H-Hanaru?" he asked tentatively, closing the door behind him. In response, she shuddered audibly as well as visibly, whimpering afterwards, breaking his heart. "Angel, I'm not going to hate you for how you look."

"Say that now, but wait till you _see_ ," she snapped back.

Sighing, Itachi went over and stood on the bed's right, which was where her head was located and where she was turned. "No, because when I looked upon you on stage as the...deformed ghost, I never called you disgusting," he said, "even though it was different from here. It _enchanted_ me, so maybe how you are now will do the same. Or do you not trust your own husband anymore?" he asked, feeling the hurt in his chest that made him put a hand over it.

With that, he reached for the head of the blanket and slowly drew it down from there, each drag causing the person beneath to further curl into herself, but he saw the partial baldness in a different location from Oiwa's. Her hand covered the right side of her face which faced him. "Love, please look at me," Itachi pleaded.

He was surprised she gave in so easily, but not only did the agony in her eyes get further to him, so did the entirety of her face.

 _Oh, God...my poor Hanaru! Her left eye and face...how could anyone do this to her?!_ Livid fire sparked immediately and spread throughout his core, expanding beyond the horizons. Whoever did this was going to pay by his hand if he had anything to say about it.

Itachi's hand went out to push back unruly hair, what was left, and ghosted his fingers across her scalp, making her shiver again, but it didn't feel as intense as before. Which told him he was calming her down a little. "See? There is nothing wrong, Hanaru. I'm still here for you."

She said nothing, didn't even look at him.

"I hope I didn't interrupt," Sakura said after knocking once and coming inside. "I wanted you to know that Hanaru, you can head home today or tomorrow if you want. Since you're not in danger, your organs are fine, although I am going to issue a brand new line of medication and have it tested upon coming in, so that you can get back on your feet again."

A week passed since the incident, and he'd been updated that Hanaru's condition wasn't life-threatening as feared, but it was highly recommended to keep her bedridden again until further notice, because she'd been affected by a terrible poison mixed with foreign ingredients. And Detective Morino said that he couldn't locate Sasuke, not even a hint of his whereabouts; add that Sakura said she hadn't seen him since before the poisoning of Hanaru, when she prescribed the medicine.

His brother missing...it caused his suspicions to rise. What if Hanaru was right -?

Itachi didn't know if she was right about his brother, because why would Sasuke resort to such a horrendous deed? True, he was a distant jerk as of late, but to be involved in poisoning his own sister-in-law for WHAT purpose?! Though Hanaru only said his name just to have him ruled as a suspect, so that didn't necessarily mean anything. And no one knew where he was, which increased possibilities that the elder brother didn't want to think about.

He finally took his wife home the next day, because Hanaru didn't feel ready to leave the hospital due to her new appearance. That gave him plenty of time to think about how to make her feel comfortable again with herself, and that he wasn't going to abandon her. Except the night before, he was plagued with lack of sleep besides their son crying again.

Before he went to the hospital, he asked Izumi for her advice, and it was simple: spoil her with something he bought, which he hadn't done in awhile since they started preparing for the birth of their baby. He thought it perfect, and so the day after he brought Hanaru home, she went with him to pick the items out.

Hanaru was sitting up in bed, after a long day of being passed out, tired from everything, and he placed them in front of her, finding himself looking upon her poor face which was too much like a certain woman who sought retribution for herself. _But there is no such thing as real spirits._

"Itachi...it's so beautiful," she whispered, running her fingers over the breezy lace. "Why would you buy this for me?"

"Because I wanted to, and NOT to buy you off," he told her, sitting before her. "I wanted to do this for you after everything you've been through." And then he picked up the final touch, which was the bracelet he fixed around her slim right wrist: a splendid mined blue sapphire on a glittering collection of Celtic-like swirls against black cord.

 _Love everlasting._ When she got that message, she put one hand over her eyes and breathlessly sobbed her happiness.

~o~

Itachi had done so much for her since bringing her home. But doubling with her and their son? She felt like a burden because Ren needed them both more than his own mother needed care. When she said this, her husband scoffed and shook his head.

"You're far from a burden, angel. You're my _wife_. As far as I'm concerned, you are both important to me."

As soon as he settled her back in, he returned with a beautiful new dress AND a bracelet. The former was light, fluttering at the bodice, the neckline rounded and off the shoulders. He even said she could wear it for as long as she wanted if she didn't feel like getting all the way dressed! That was what she'd been thinking.

He tired himself out physically; Hanaru saw it all from his hair messily tied together, but Hinata and Izumi still came by. Sometimes her dad and brother. But often she wished she could hide her face because of the way they all looked at her even though it wasn't disgust, and despite Itachi's reassurances - during the times he would lay her down in the bathtub with their son in her embrace as he washed them both. He would always tell her with a kiss that he didn't care how ugly she was...because she was beautiful inside.

And speaking of inside, she was sure she felt sicker than Sakura said she was. Every day that passed, she found herself becoming more and more like the character she understood. Oiwa wasn't afraid to die, even before she found that her own husband had done this to her, but there was the matter of her own son. Some versions had her taking the child with her in death, refusing to leave him with a father like that as well as a stepmother who could mistreat the innocent child.

Hanaru found herself looking at her son in her arms while she and the family - mainly herself, the baby and Itachi - who were in the public park, since it'd been awhile since they were all here. It was Ren's first time to be out in fresh air like this. Nothing but summer greenery and colorful flowers to see, even picnics under the trees. Just the two of them here, so that she didn't have to be at risk of someone looking at her in disgust.

That morning, she got the new dress on with Itachi's help, and he also did the sweetest thing in brushing her hair for her, though it had gotten so messy and hard to keep clean that he nearly accidentally pulled parts of it out at the roots. He hadn't meant to, but it hurt like an S.O.B., and she shrieked a little to let him know. But when it was all over, he had it in a small ponytail behind her head, finishing it off with a chaste kiss to where the roots fell off in midst of the ordeal.

She was positive the man she loved would never do such a thing to her, but how could someone treat her this way?!

"Itachi," she said softly, feeling that now could be a good time even if it wasn't, "promise me something."

He was getting out all the dishes from the picnic basket and had grasped the last one when she spoke. "What is it?" he asked.

"I know what Sakura said, but I don't feel I might make it," Hanaru said softly, rubbing the little boy's back as he rested against her shoulder. "I don't want to think about it, but I should say it just in case. If something happens to me, please promise you won't remarry. But if you do, make _damned sure_ she's a good mother to our son." She coughed a little when she was done, maybe from something invisible in her throat.

Itachi halted, nearly dropped the tupperware dish which looked like it had brown rice. "H-Hanaru, why would you be saying such things?" he said in disbelief. "Of course you're going to make it!"

She shook her head. "I want to believe that, but promise me in case we're both wrong, Itachi," she pleaded, looking up at him with her eyes reflecting. She reached for him and grasped his hand in hers, tightening around his wrist, but not enough to break a bone or important blood vessel. "Itachi!"

"V-very well, I swear it!" He leaned across then, pulling his hand out of her grasp and then cupping her face into his palm, pressing his mouth desperately against hers. "I don't want to lose you, but I'll swear for your sake - for both your sakes." He looked down at their son as the final emphasis, leaning down to lay his lips on the back of the baby's head as the mother watched...

...under the watchful two pairs of eyes behind a tree many feet away.

 **Oh, shit, can it mean who we think it is? (cold sweat) Wait for the next chapter...**

 **Meantime, review please. :S**


	6. Seishin-tekina Fukushū

**Also, the last of "Haru No Katami" is seen, officially. :'( That song really contributed to this story.**

 **Good God was this chapter hard, because it's not only super important, but has pivotal moments from the tale that will send shivers up your spine...be sure to not read at night before you go to sleep.**

 **Chapter title translation: "spiritual revenge".**

Chapter Six

Seishin-tekina Fukushū

Death was always inevitable, no matter how much you would deny it. She knew it good and well, yet while she had to accept it sooner or later, she knew how it would impact those around her.

Her father lost his wife, and there was no doubt what losing his daughter would do with him. Same with Naruto and Hinata. It broke Hanaru's heart as much as it would hurt leaving her only son without his mother, having been in his life for only a month at the least.

Their friends would not only be devastated, but they would probably start something in honor of her memory.

That left one person left, the one whom she pleaded to not remarry for the sake of their child, and because he knew how much he loved her as she still loved him, or if he did, be very careful. There was one person she could think of, but did she have it in herself to risk saying the identity of this woman...?

"I don't want to lose you, but I'll swear it for your sake - for both your sakes."

She tried not to cry again when she felt his lips on hers, then did the same to the back of Ren's head. He really loved her that much, so much that he was willing to do anything for her so that she would live. So that their lives would be what it used to. _But what if it won't be the same again?_

Suddenly, Itachi jerked backwards, reaching behind himself to rub the back of his neck - and then he pulled something out, and it was small but glinting. Hanaru gasped in horror when she recognized it as a _needle dart._ "Itachi, oh God, it's a -" She was cut off when he collapsed backwards just like that in realization too late, and he was out in seconds. His arms were spread out on either side of his body as if posed to make a snow angel, but there was nothing funny about this. She acted on impulse, fumbling into her purse she managed to grasp, seeking out her cell for 911, keeping the whimpering baby in one arm, but before she could do anything, she found her mouth covered by a gloved hand, and was face to face with two men in black, clichéd and masked to hide their faces - the COWARDS!

"Don't scream, because you'd be wasting your time," the guy behind her hissed into her ear. "Too bad no one is here to save your sorry self, and by the time your hubby comes around, it will be too late."

Hanaru stifled a shriek of anger and fear when Ren, her little boy, was taken from her arms by the other who didn't say a word. "What do you want?!" she demanded, and then she felt something thin and tight being wrapped around her throat. Gasping in fear, Hanaru realized that death had come much sooner than she and her man thought - mostly her.

The one who wrapped the cord around her neck answered suavely and smugly. "You got the idea."

"Then you'd better not hurt my husband and our baby!" she hissed. "Because you will pay if you do!"

"Yeah, and what will you do? Come back to haunt us, Mrs. Uchiha?"

 _Come to think of it..._ "You can bet on my...last..." She gasped again when her trachea was closed in, but not enough to cause her vision to black out. "...breath."

The other who had her son, who was strangely calm as if he _recognized_ the person or at least knew he could trust him in his own way, finally spoke, and it was the _VOICE_ she recognized besides looking into those eyes. She KNEW who it was.

"I didn't even want this to happen, but it's gone on long enough. I just want what I couldn't have, and you were in the way. But I'm not going to dirty my hands by carrying it out myself." He scoffed. "I just wish Itachi left you because of your ugly face."

If he thought that would insult her, it certainly did, but she wasn't going to show it. Hanaru grunted when the pressure of the rope began to get worse, and all she could do was seethe with everything she had to the last second. All she could think about was the pain and suffering of her friends and family, but most of all her husband and son. One who would never know his mother, and the other who would have his heart broken for a very long time - but would he find out the truth when she was gone?

And because of this bastard who was too cowardly to do this job himself. If she had anything to say about it, she would make him suffer for what he was doing to her - even if he wasn't the one holding the rope. "May you f-f-feel my wrath, you who brought this up-pon yourself! D-damn y-you...Ssssaaass..."

That was all she could say, because the next thing she knew was the painful breaking of her neck, and all went black in seconds. All she could hear was nothing but...

 _Eventually, after everything has passed away_

 _I will think of nobody but you_

 _Oh if you can somehow hear my voice_

 _know that it's a voice that thinks only of you_

~o~

 _What...what happened?_

Someone shot him in the back of the neck, and when he pulled it out, it was a needle, telling him someone tranquilized him. He didn't have time to shout for his wife to try and run - at least, TRY being the word - or call for help, and he could have sworn she was going to, but that was all he remembered.

His mind was muddied as his vision, but it was cleared within moments, and he found himself staring into familiar faces surrounding him: Naruto. Hinata. Izumi. And of course Sakura. "Hey, you're alive," his brother-in-law said, though the smile was forced. And he knew why.

"Where is she?"

It was then that Hinata covered her face, her body wracking as she turned to sob breathily into her fiancé's shoulder as he, too, fought not to cry. Izumi was wiping her eyes as she slumped into the chair beside his bed. "She...Hanaru..." She cleared her throat a few times, but otherwise couldn't talk. She looked up at the pink-haired doctor who squeezed her eyes shut and then softened the lids only to reopen them and answer for the distressed trio.

"I'm sorry, Itachi," Sakura finally whispered hoarsely. "But your wife..."

Unspoken: _your wife is dead._

The world halted its spin, and then it began to turn in another direction. It was like falling asleep and then being trapped in a nightmare he was fighting to wake up from but couldn't...he couldn't...he wanted to hear that Hanaru was still alive if still disfigured...

But these people before him, crying and holding onto each other, one beside him and another above, told him that all of it was too real. Itachi's throat tore apart on its own, going down to his heart and eventually to the rest of his body. He swallowed down the throbbing before it returned and erupted like an underwater volcano, releasing heated pressure and allowing the boil to overcome his being. The agony was more than he could tolerate. Sobbing hoarsely and painstakingly, Itachi managed to roll over onto his side, facing Izumi, and buried his face into the pillow.

His wife...the woman he loved...the mother of his child...

His world had spun so fast that he wasn't sure what happened next, but he was certain he heard his name being called for.

 _It should have been me, not her...not her...if I hadn't taken her out, she would still be alive - OH, GOD, REN!_

When he came to again, he was laying on his back, looking up at the ceiling and feeling himself lighter but otherwise better than...how much time passed? He was still laying in the hospital bed, but covered, and still in his summer clothes from the picnic. And this time was Sakura again, alone - except for Detective Morino who was grave as ever and wanting to ask him the questions since he might be the suspect in whatever happened to his wife this time. But Itachi had been struck with a tranquilizer from an unseen assailant who HAD to be the one to poison Hanaru.

"Are you okay now, Itachi?" Sakura asked as she bent over him to take his vital signs within his eyes and then the IV. He sighed sharply and looked at the scarred policeman.

"I wish it were the truth. My wife..."

"Yes, I'm sorry," Ibiki said, reaching to rub his temple. "You've been out of it for a whole day and much of this afternoon. You had a panic attack, so Dr. Haruno told me, when she told you."

Itachi took a deep breath and slowly sat up. "I don't know what was given to me, Detective," he said, before Sakura beat him to it.

"It was a tranquilizer. Though I have no idea why they never killed you," she said bitterly, then added apologetically, "No offense." _None taken._

Morino stood up from the chair at the far end of the room and went to sit in the visitor's beside Itachi's right hand. "Likely because you weren't the one they wanted dead. At first we suspected it was you, but we didn't find the murder weapon or your fingerprints around her throat. Sometimes the spouse is the suspect in the death of the other, but you're clean once again. Except you're not going to like the cause of death..."

"No, tell me," Itachi said, sounding colder than intended which didn't faze the man.

"She was strangled from behind, with a thin rope or wire or something, but the perp thought it was taking too long for their liking and then snapped her neck in the end. At least that's what it looks like. Unfortunately, there were no witnesses. We got the call when an elderly couple were strolling, and they saw you unconscious, your wife already dead, and the baby crying but unharmed."

Itachi stiffened at the mention of the child he hadn't seen since he woke up. "My son!" he said, tempted to jump out of bed since he felt the drug gone from his system, but Sakura put her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Itachi," she said with a small, painful smile. "He's fine. In fact, he is with his grandpa in the waiting room."

 _Minato._

That meant someone had to talk to him now that his daughter was killed, and Itachi felt he had to be the one. The man as well as Naruto were all he had left of Hanaru, and all Ren needed of his mother. "When can he come in?" he asked both the detective as well as the doctor, the latter pursing her lips.

"I'll bring him in now if you want." He nodded, and she was gone in a flash, leaving him with Morino.

"Did you talk to my father-in-law?"

"I did. Surprisingly, he doesn't blame you for anything, Itachi. It's uncommon for an in-law to not find fault in their children's spouses," the scarred man replied, finding a small smile in one corner of his mouth, before it was gone. "Though he said that if we find the one responsible, make sure we shoot him down on sight, or just make him suffer enough before he got proper punishment. It's always a bother when a suffering loved one wants revenge, when it only comforts temporarily before it isn't enough. I've known a lot of people in my line of work who feel that way." _I bet._

So his wife's father was thinking the same thing he was. And speak of the devil, the man himself finally came in, cradling the baby with one arm as he was wiping away dried tearstains that were down his face, trying to clean them away, but his blue eyes - the ones that were once his beloved Hanaru, and also in his grandson - were misted with more that he wasn't going to let fall. He was also pale and hadn't gotten much sleep as of late, by the looks of it.

"Itachi, w-why would someone do this to her? Hadn't she been through enough already?" Minato's face hardened as he proceeded to gently bounce the whimpering infant in his arms. "It was bad enough - no, an understatement - that I lost my wife, and to lose my daughter now!"

 _Yes...this family has been through more than enough. This one, and mine. The most precious people taken - including this wonderful woman from both me and her father and brother, even our friends. Minato isn't going to be able to get over this anguish -_

 _\- but neither will I._

Minato's daughter had been taken in her prime, too soon and after giving him his first grandchild. And that wasn't fair for a parent to lose their child before they went. If only the clock had been turned back...

You heard it right again: Itachi wished he'd gone instead of her, but that would also mean Ren still would have lost a parent. And his son needed him more than ever.

~o~

What he and the detective discussed while he rested that day in the hospital took a turn for the...stranger, for lack of a better word. Because now that Itachi found himself thinking about it, life had gotten so much worse that other theories were running out.

When he told Detective Morino about how this was too much like _Yotsuya Kaidan,_ at first the man was bewildered and dismayed, until he settled on this: "Could be a crazed fan acting this out, if what you say is true."

 _Crazed fan...that just about sums it up. But what about my brother? No one has found him or even located him after all this time, not even for questioning._

He couldn't stop thinking about the manner in which he was told she'd been killed, unlike him: she'd been strangled, but when she didn't die fast enough, her neck was snapped. Their son hadn't been in her embrace when this happened. There had to have been two people on the scene, so one of them held the baby and then laid him down afterwards. No fingerprints, assuming gloves were worn, and that decreased a quick identification.

What if they didn't find her murderers?

"Try not to think too much about that," Minato assured him, though he sounded doubtful, too. He was driving himself, his son-in-law and his grandson back to his own house, since Itachi wasn't brave enough to go back to his own. Because he didn't want to feel hollow and alone, knowing that there was one person no longer there. There were too many memories. So his father-in-law was logical enough since they both loved her.

Ren was still sleeping at the foot of the bed like before. He and his father were in the guest room, unable to be in the room where his mother used to sleep, because all Itachi needed was a good night's rest, though he doubted the boy would let him in case he needed a diaper change, feeding or just attention overall.

Surprisingly, the baby was good for once, while his father rocked him and then laid him down into the little crib. "I'm so sorry, you poor child. I wish your mother were here, if only I hadn't...but there's no turning back the clock to reverse what happened. I'm just going to find out who did this to her and see they pay, and to take care of you because you are all we have left of her." He smiled painfully, stifling a hiccup and more tears he wiped before they could fall. Gently, he rubbed the baby's soft belly, making him grunt a little and turn a little, parting his mouth to let in a few breaths of air.

Itachi smiled down at his son, then looked at the clock to see how it was late enough for him to turn in. At first he thought he would need something to drink, but that was a health problem. And besides, Minato had done that when his wife died, and tonight he did just that, which took all of the son-in-law's efforts to get him to stop before it got worse, then walked him back upstairs for the rest of the night.

He slid underneath the warm covers, but for a few moments he laid on his back and stared up at the ceiling and the light rays casting shadows, eerily reminding him of the unknown and obvious hidden specters...

...and it was then that the silence was broken by a voice.

 _"Itachi..."_

Horrified, he recognized WHO that was, and then he turned to his left to see the figure laying beside him, where it had previously been unoccupied. The voice repeated, sweetly this time - or more than before. _"Itachi."_ And then rolled over to look at him this way, but the face caused him to bolt upright and freeze in terror.

"H-Hanaru?!"

There she was: in the white dress he bought her, which she wore on the day she died, and her beautiful face marred by that vile Oiwa-like mask, except it truly happened. The drooping left eye and slightly pulled back mouth corner, finished with the lightly peeled right cheek. It was kind and tender for the moment as she looked upon him, though gluing him in his place and making him think she was here to drag him to hell with her, because she was exactly what the character she once played had become: _she didn't cross over. She's a ghost. But why? I didn't do this to her!_

And then her face twisted with ferocious animosity, resembling a demon. Her voice rose to a level enough to make his eardrums rattle, shrieking like an Irish banshee.

 _"The one who did this to me will suffer my vengeance!"_

 _Y-you mean you're here after all for the one who did this to you!_ "My love, who?" he pleaded, no longer afraid. "Who did this to you? Please, tell me!" He reached for her, but his hand went right through her, and not because she backed away from him. She was there, yet she wasn't.

His ghostly wife drew back then, not answering his question, instead throwing her head back, her stringy hair once thick and shining with golden life flaring behind her in a ghastly halo as she unleashed the unholiest wail of never-ending suffering from the moment of her death up to now. His pleas were ignored; why wouldn't she tell him? Or could she not since she had a limited time in his presence?

"HANARU!"

His shouts woke the baby, who was crying and upset that his father had awoken him. Minato hadn't come in, telling him it was impossible after all those drinks earlier, which was a relief. But Itachi was angry at himself for waking his child - no, THEIR child - because he wanted answers. His diverted attention made him remember Hanaru, whose howls were no longer heard. Crawling out of the bed and going to the foot to pick Ren up, he looked back up to try again only to find it was impossible.

She was gone.

His heart had been thundering against his chest. If he'd indeed drank so much tonight, he would have said he was dreaming, but he wasn't. His beloved was a ghost, trapped between this world and the next, his sanity without any doubts. But he was going to keep this to himself until he decided who to entrust with what he'd seen...

~o~

Not even a week went by, and that was when the funeral took place. He and Minato made the arrangements together, and the final result was the flowers consisting of emerald ferns and palms along with red gladioli, fresh white lotus-like blossoms, and blue roses. It appeared American patriotic, but the truth was the blue rose was significant because it was his and his late wife's favorite cherished bloom.

The sky was beautiful and sunny, when it should have been raining and gloomy to befit an event like this.

He, his son who was in his arms and sleeping, along with Minato, Naruto, Hinata, Izumi and her mother - as well as their fellow kabuki cast members attended along with several distraught fans who were watching the services from afar. The press was forbidden from taking pictures, giving the grieving family and friends privacy, but that didn't stop the admirers.

A single blue rose was in his hand, ready to be thrown into the ground above his beloved's closed casket.

Even as the priest read the text, Itachi could have sworn he saw his wife's spirit again in the distance: she stood among a collection of shaded trees, looking as aggrieved as she was...

...and it was then that she lifted her finger, as if pointing to something at him - or behind him?

On instinct, Itachi turned behind him and saw what he couldn't believe. A face poking out from behind another maple tree trunk. A face he hadn't seen in ages, one Ibiki Morino and his men couldn't locate for questioning, and whom Hanaru thought was behind the wrong done to her - but now her ghost was pointing him out. Angrily, he wondered why the hell he would dare to show his face now at a time like this. He decided he wasn't going to call him out now that they were in the middle of burying Hanaru, but the name escaped his lips in a hushed breath that the other read rather than heard.

"...Sasuke."

And so when it was all over and the coffin was being lowered in, the crowd was slowly dispersing, but then the group that was staying behind for last after the last respects were paid - the close family and friends - was approached by none other than Detective Morino and a couple of his men in uniform.

And held between them was none other than his brother, who was disgruntled and held by handcuffs. Why had none of them been aware he was arrested - and why did it not surprise Itachi? _Because I want to know why he hasn't been around, and if my wife was right, as much as it pains me._

If his brother was the suspect, then his world would fall apart. And what the scarred detective said shook the very foundation.

"I'm very sorry to disturb you all, but Sasuke Uchiha is going to be taken in for questioning for the murder of Hanaru Uchiha. When you're through, you are welcome to come to the police station."

 **So the next chapter will be the grand finale, so stay tuned! Review please. :)**


	7. Yasuraka Ni Nemuru

**I owe EVERYONE an apology for the delay of this final chapter (which broke records than its predecessors). Because shit happened, as well as returning to my ItaHana vampire fic "Allure of Darkness", even working on "Exorcism of Sarada Uchiha" and "Gutsy Jinchuuriki". At least this is closed after Halloween. :)**

 **There's some mild warnings in here: mentions of incestuous feelings. That's all, so maybe that's just a minor spoiler. Proceed if you must.**

 **Chapter title translation: "rest in peace".**

Chapter Seven

Yasuraka Ni Nemuru

Here he was, sitting at the police station with his son sleeping in his arms, his father and brother-in-law as well as Hinata on one side, Izumi on the other. Meanwhile, outside, the press was having a field day as they tried to get juicy news out for the world.

"All right, get these people out of here! You'll get your statements after we speak with the family and friends!" Detective Morino barked angrily before slamming the door and shouting at some of his deputies to keep this under control for him while he did his job in explaining what they had on Sasuke Uchiha.

Itachi had not seen his younger brother since his arrest at the funeral's end - _why were you even there? And why did you bother showing your face of all times?_ But he never got his questions answered because the detective on this case said that it was best to take it here in the district office. And what they found on his brother as soon as they learned he'd been spotted back in town...

"Well, what did he do?" Minato demanded, unable to take this any more than his son-in-law. "Did he...kill my daughter? After everything we did for him, and he does this to all of us - to HANARU?!" His voice rose to horrendous volumes that he had to sit back down when Hinata put her hand on his shoulder, softly pleading with him to not get arrested and listen to the man.

"No, he didn't kill her," Ibiki said, sitting down before all of them, "but he was involved."

Gasps broke out from around the room, but Itachi wasn't sure he heard himself. _S-Sasuke...you..._

Hanaru had suspected, but it turned out she was right all along, and no one took her seriously - especially himself. Which gave him all the more reason to feel more guilty than before, as he would always see her malformed face, Oiwa incarnate and screaming vengeance. Spiritual business was _business_ ; none of them should have doubted something like this would happen, but he kept his lips sealed all this time about seeing Hanaru the way she was...except to Izumi.

 _"You mean, you SAW her?"_

 _"As clearly as I see you. I barely even closed my eyes until I saw her laying there. She looked exactly as she did before she died, and she howled that the one responsible would suffer. But she wouldn't even tell me WHO it was, just kept screaming..."_

That day he visited her in the tea shop, and he had let Minato spend time with his grandson at the theatre. She was disbelieved, but at least she didn't call him crazy and knew what would happen if he breathed a word.

"That bastard...he was my BEST FRIEND!" Naruto said angrily, showing red around the rims of the irises. "Do you have proof?"

Morino's nod was the seal of Sasuke's fate - of ALL their fates - but he wasn't done talking. "It just happens that he abandoned the theatre and exited the town only to wind up with the wrong crowd, and this is what we found when we searched his possessions." In his hand was a book with a worn navy spine - _a journal._ There were places marked with neon sticky note pieces, telling Itachi that what was inside was vital for evidence against his own brother.

"Are you all ready to hear this?" the scarred man asked, eyes scanning over each and every one of them - especially the bereaved widower himself. With that, he opened the book to the first labeled section and proceeded to read it aloud, barely suppressing flinches of his own as he voiced what Sasuke wrote by his own hand.

 _"My father doesn't even see me for ME - he always compares me to Itachi. I can't stand it anymore, so I'm going to do something for myself. But that's not all that beyond troubles me._

 _These feelings...they're more than brotherly for Itachi. But I'm scared; I can't let him know._

 _I've had them since I was thirteen, and I have no idea where they came from. All I know is that it came naturally, just because Itachi has been my best friend besides Naruto. It makes me sick that these feelings won't go away. It's only gotten stronger since my brother and I got to working together at the theatre - but if only I could just shake them off!"_

When he was done with the first entry, he paused and looked up at all of their faces, but Itachi wasn't aware of anyone's - although knowing how disgusted and even mortified they were, and unable to speak - other than his own. His stomach churned and threatened to release the bile up his throat. His son whimpered and stirred but didn't wake up.

 _Sasuke...you...you had..._

How was he supposed to think or feel now? His younger brother, his own flesh and blood, harbored emotions no sibling should have for the other, and he never even told him for fear of destroying their relationship, even making them depraved in society's eyes. But it looked like it was going to happen, but not to both of them. It shattered Itachi's world if it hadn't been already. "What else is there?" he finally asked hoarsely, earning a shake of the head.

"What's enough to convict him of being an accomplice to murder, but not yet with your wife's case." The Uchiha stiffened, having an idea as to _who_ he was talking about. "When we never found who had your parents killed..."

So this was what the journal entry said for the detective: _Suigetsu was a good friend in high school, but he was said to be a "bad influence" on me, though recently we reconnected - and he offered a solution to my troubles I had to confide in him. I wish I could have trusted Naruto, who was a much better friend than he was, although his_ _SISTER_ _is involved with my brother._

 _My father was in the way, because while I used to respect him, I could never get him to acknowledge me, but I've all but given up. His approval isn't what I need anymore; it's_ _Itachi_ _. But that kind of relationship just...besides the rest of the world looking at us like that, Father would disown us both, and it's a fate worse than death. I don't want that to happen to Itachi._

 _So Suigetsu said he'd do it if I was too much of a coward - but I'll never forgive or forget the look of my parents laying on the sidewalk that way! I wish I never saw it. But Suigetsu did keep his promise and make sure neither of us would be caught, and at least no one was present to see us._

 _But I'm never going to forget what Itachi and I fought about the next day when he told me he got the call. We should have just leaned on each other for comfort, I said I didn't care about my birthday anymore, and he should have known that better than anyone else - except Naruto. Big brother called me a brat for no reason, and maybe he's right, but I don't want to admit it. "If you insist on being like this now that our parents are gone, then leave," he said, so I did. Nowhere to go except Sakura. Since Itachi really made it clear he doesn't want me anymore, said that I never appreciated anything he and our mother and father did for me...and things have gotten much worse._

First nail to the coffin was the revelation of Sasuke's forbidden desire for his own brother, and now this was the next: _he knew of our parents' deaths, and played a part without getting behind the wheel himself! He didn't even shed a tear when I told him!_

A part of him felt guilty again like the time he said those words that made him move out of their apartment. Sasuke would never understand, nor even considered, that their father still cared about him, but it was like him to be swayed by his emotions instead of reason. So he sheltered them deep inside himself, without trusting anyone - even Itachi - and left all of them...

What Ibiki read next deepened the spiral: _"Hanaru - every time I look at her, I feel so sick. Even when my brother talks of her, with his eyes giving off being in a faraway place. I shouldn't hate her, because she did nothing to me, but there is one thing: she took away my brother. I can't bear looking at them together, or see her come to our place - just ANYTIME! There's only one thing I can do as much as it hurts me more, even everyone else - but most of all Itachi - and that's distance myself from them. Except Sakura, though I can't tell her the depths of my suffering either. I really care about her enough to give her what she deserved, but now I won't be able to do this anymore."_

Itachi squeezed his eyes shut, cursing to himself mentally for thinking it was simply because Sasuke needed to adjust to his older brother having a serious relationship, and he thought being with Sakura would take his mind off things. Thought that time would just heal. But everything...it explained why Sasuke never got it up with his girlfriend, either, or made a marriage proposal - not even a HINT!

The next entry made matters worse, some time after Ren's birth. Sasuke could have written this shortly after the wedding, but he had no will at the time: _The nerve to invite me to that wedding! I just...I've run out of what to say now. Everyone was there, and Shisui was the best man, even though he deserves it more than I do for what I caused between my brother, myself...and my new sister-in-law. It makes my stomach vomit the contents and my heart erupt to die just thinking about that title she has. The nerve is that Itachi_ _HAD_ _to suggest I marry Sakura. That was the last straw._

 _I didn't even look at Hanaru that day when she married my brother at our family's ancestral castle, which was where he proposed to her during the Tsukimi Festival. I didn't look when they took their vows. In fact, I made no eye contact with anyone until my brother approached and said what he did. And those were the first real words he said to me since he announced his engagement!_

 _Everyone enjoyed themselves at the reception, but me. After today, I'm through with being around them, but I need a way to support myself if the one thing I loved - and the one person I still do but can't have - won't do it anymore. And whatever I find, I can't tell Sakura. She hardly asks questions, but it's also not like she's home much these days with her practice. Sometimes I feel she deserves better than me, but I don't even know how to tell it to her, but her heart would break either way._

Naruto exploded then and there, staying in place only because of his fiancée's hand on his arm. "OH, THAT SON OF A BITCH!" he shouted enough to make the windows rattle. "IF I COULD SEE HIM, I'LL DEFINITELY DO MORE THAN PUNCH HIM TO KNOCK HIS HEAD FROM HIS BODY!"

"Naruto, love, please," Hinata said, lower lip trembling as she tried not to cry, but it reverted to unbridled loathing at everything she'd heard. Morino regarded them both with a similar expression, not directed at them but for the person who wrote all of this. He went on.

 _"I reunited with Suigetsu again, and this was right after I left Minato's theatre. He had a dealing in business that was so well-done that few would ever be caught, and if they were, they were silenced by having their vocal cords sliced internally by something that was placed in their bodies. It makes me grimace, but I don't want anything to do with it, except to just help me get by, so I stay with him outside town and work behind a counter at Kuso's post office. Small town, but at least they don't care about what goes on in the outside world._

 _Being paid is decent enough, but even so, I miss home despite everything. That's as far as I'm going._

 _My nephew was born early in the month before my own birthday, but I don't even deserve to be there, either. Just knowing he came from my brother and the one who has him makes me worse than sick. I still haven't crushed this need after all the time. I feel like I'm going off the edge - until Suigetsu suggested another time could work in terms of Hanaru. That there was another way without getting caught, and that I had to leave it to him again. But what he planned this time was enough to make me wonder if I was reliving 'Yotsuya Kaidan', when it's impossible, but the similarities are too much! He suggested_ _POISON_ _of all things, but not enough to kill her. That he would put it into the form of her medicine that Sakura got her. Hanaru being sick is the perfect opportunity, he said._

 _I'm just going to wait and see what happens, but I can't help but feel the cold wetness threatening to freeze, meaning that something could go wrong for sure this time. If something really happens to her, then I'll get to try and make amends with Itachi, though 'not easy' will be put to shame when everyone demands where I've been and why I bothered to come back now."_

This was it: his brother wanted Hanaru out of the picture, but he was too much of a coward to do it himself. He let someone he knew do his dirty work. This scheming, frightened, and depraved individual was _not_ the brother he cared for and protected. Hanaru suffered because of him, and so had he and their loved ones.

Minato stood up and paced the room, muttering aloud to himself and to them. "I should take his neck and snap it myself with both my hands!" he ranted, probably wishing he could punch the wall, break the plaster and make his knuckles bleed.

"Minato," Ibiki said, knowing his pain, "please control yourself. You could have your chance after our session, or you can just leave us to do it for you - and watch the show." He watched as the man ceased his pacing and his cursing, then sat back down. Itachi looked up at him, knowing one thing could calm him down - and so he gave the man his still-sleeping grandson. Forcing a smile, Minato took him.

But Itachi had his own reasons for doing so. He thought he was going to collapse, especially at the next nail to his coffin due to the latest section read: _Hanaru was supposed to die, but somehow, she didn't. Suigetsu said it was extracted from poison ivy, usually to make the skin itch and break out if rubbed externally, but when ingested, it left her face horrendous in appearance. There had to be a way to finish her off, and that was to break her neck at least, which will leave no fingerprints if done properly._

 _I also just heard that police wanted to talk to me, but they have no idea where to find me. Now I'm scared for myself. I have a feeling Hanaru suspects me more than my brother...which is why the dark side of me still wants her gone._

 _I still can't even bring myself to do it, and that was when Suigetsu called me a coward. Too scared to do anything on my own, that I was all big talk and no do._

 _We hid ourselves very well, and then one day, we happened to see Itachi, his wife and their son at the park. They were having a picnic. It was chance since they were alone, but when I saw her, I felt I needed a drink besides feeling sick...but then my guts twitched with something else. She looked so broken, and_ _TOO MUCH_ _like Oiwa herself. How could things have turned out like the old story? It wasn't like it was intentionally planned!_

 _Itachi didn't seem disgusted when he held her, kissed her or even held their son with her. I couldn't hear what they were saying to each other - but I saw Itachi on the verge of weeping at whatever it was, and I almost was tempted to end what I was doing to them here and now, but I came too far to turn back - nor could Suigetsu, but there wasn't time to lose. There was one thing I knew to come prepared with, and it was a tranquilizer gun, in case my brother was in her company - but the baby in her arms made it difficult. I don't even know how to describe what happened, because I feel my hand shaking along with the rest of my body just by recalling everything that happened._

 _As soon as my brother was knocked out - and because of my hand, and I really hated myself for doing this to him, for the first time - Suigetsu had the thread around her throat, and she had one last ditch effort to threaten us if we put our hands on her husband and son. But in the struggle, I acted on instinct and took Ren into my arms; something inside me painfully softened when I looked upon the face from his father and the eyes of his mother. I knew we were taking the child's mother from him, and how he would grow up never knowing her._

 _Hanaru recognized me when she heard my voice and saw my eyes through the mask. She spat and cursed at me, even when I said I never wanted it to be like this, but she was in the way. I_ _HAD_ _to say my brother shouldn't have stayed with her hideous self._

 _I have to cut this entry short, because that was the last act for her, for us both when Suigetsu finished the job, but I won't forget her words: "May you feel my wrath, you who brought this upon yourself."_

 _I never believed in ghosts, not even the old stories - not even the day I followed example and prayed at Oiwa's shrine before that fateful production._

 _We left Itachi and the baby where they were, beside her corpse; I wished we didn't have to do that, because the baby was crying for his mother, and his father was going to wake up to a nightmare that was going to shatter him. I don't know if I'll be able to sleep or find happiness again. I don't think I was meant to have it, so I ended up taking away someone else's..._

This entry was the longest of the lot thus far; a couple hours had gone by since they all came to this office, but it felt like an eternity. Sasuke read his thoughts in that life became too similar to the kabuki they starred in together...unintentional but meant to happen, against their wishes. Itachi found himself understanding him and his guilt in realizing the suffering he caused his friends and loved ones, but couldn't go back.

It was undeserving of forgiveness.

Morino paused when he reached the final marked passage, looking up at all of them. "I don't even know if I should believe this myself, but if the psychiatrists saw this, they would all have their own opinions and reason of insanity," he said, before Izumi snapped.

"What could be more insane than this? That he saw her GHOST come back to haunt him?" she said with frustration, refusing to say what Itachi confided in her, which he was grateful for.

"...I'm afraid that's what it is."

"What..." Hinata whispered, eyes wide and sitting straighter with Naruto. "...what happened?"

And so this was the final nail to the casket to prove to Itachi he wasn't crazy, and to Izumi that he wasn't; even his father and brother-in-law as well as the Hyuuga were frozen in their seats at what they heard. This passage was dated only yesterday.

 _"I see her face now. Ever since we retreated, and at first I thought I was just imagining it. But I could hear her voice clearly, repeating the words that she said to me: 'May you feel my wrath, you who brought this upon yourself!' And I could have sworn I SAW her face in the windows of the car - especially sitting behind me while Suigetsu was driving. If I had been in his place, I would have either killed us both, injured us both, or perhaps a combination. But we got back to our motel room in time...and it didn't stop there._

 _Hanaru continued to haunt me for days and nights on end after that. Coupled with knowing her husband and son were mourning her, their friends and loved ones doing with - I can't bring myself to call them my friends and loved ones anymore because of what I did to them - her ugly face keeps appearing in the lamps, which I find myself closing my eyes to, and Suigetsu seems to know what might be going on, sarcastically saying it's my 'guilty conscience'. I wish I could punch him for saying that._

 _She is in my sleep, too. I find myself in the dark, surrounded by various images of her like the character she played and had incarnated now: nailed on a board, the harsh red lining around her neck visible for my eyes. Rising from bloody water and shrieking my name as well as her words: 'May you feel my wrath when I return, you who brought this upon yourself! I swear I will come back and drag you down to the gates of hell themselves and watch you burn for all eternity!'_

 _Now I can't take it anymore. She's cursed me, and I deserve it all. I know I need to see my brother somehow, but the funeral is going to be held soon..._

That was where it all ended, and here they were now. Harsh breaths taken, sweat pouring from some, and wondering what the hell was happening when the answers were given on paper as proof enough.

"Hanaru knew it was him, and I didn't take her seriously," was all Itachi could say. He tuned off what everyone else said, but knew they were all similar: dismayed someone they knew as a friend could betray them all - and HER - like this.

~o~

Suigetsu Hozuki was dead, having committed suicide by putting his own gun to his head, apparently to avoid imprisonment and just let his partner-in-crime take the fall as he was the main ringleader.

Although, he was the one to finally confront Sasuke a few days later. He denied an attorney, saying he had nothing to hide since he'd been caught, from what Itachi was told. He didn't want to be here - and he spared Ren being in his horrible uncle's presence by leaving him with the family - but he had to. He wanted to show Sasuke that everything he did was enough to make him dead to all of them. Ties were going to be severed once and for all.

But Hanaru was still gone.

Speaking of her, a shrine was going to be built near the theatre in her honor, but it would take a couple weeks to build. Her spirit would be put at ease, if it would mean a little more time for her to have her fun with Sasuke, tormenting him - but for Itachi, he saw her laying beside him every night, sometimes during the day at odd times, and her ruined face was smiling the happiest it could be. Another person would call that the stuff of nightmares, but not for him. That smile was directed for him and their son.

There his brother sat, handcuffed to the table, but it was then that Itachi saw the state he was in: haggard, hair disheveled, and he was starting to grow stubble. He was such a mess, and there were dark circles under his eyes. He hadn't slept at all.

"...big brother," the younger rasped out when they looked up at him, the emotions myriad: desperation, regret, and longing. But the elder wasn't swayed.

"Don't call me that. In fact, I refuse to acknowledge the monster you became," Itachi said coldly, remaining where he was. "You assisted in the murder of both of our parents - and my wife, the mother of my child - because you couldn't keep yourself in check. Because of your own brother. I don't want to hear what you have to say, because the diary you never had in you to burn was enough."

Sasuke could only look at him like the child he once was. And his body was shaking uncontrollably, the chains rattling slightly. "Itachi..."

"Hanaru was right about you, and I regret not listening right away. I never thought my own flesh and blood could be capable of such things - or rather have someone else do it for him. It shows how foolish and low you really are. I never want to see or hear from you again, and I don't even know how to forgive you. I should, but I don't feel I can. For her sake..."

He saw her then and there, standing behind him but far enough for her back against the wall. She was angry, livid, and diverted her attention to the one responsible, glaring flames to the back of his head which he must have felt, for his eyes darted left and right, but he couldn't look behind him.

"You see her, too," was all he could say. Itachi nodded.

"And I'll leave her to deal with you, since she has every right." He smiled at Hanaru's specter, who acknowledged him with a simple, single tilt of the head forward. With that, he turned around and opened the door to leave the room. Sasuke protested - and his words he clearly waited to say, even at this wrong time.

"I...I love you, Itachi. Even if you hate me...and everyone else."

 _Everyone else who won't want to see you, are struggling to forgive you as I am._ But Itachi said nothing and left for good. That was the last time he saw the brother who ruined his life.

The next day, the police called him at the same time the news hit all over the media: Sasuke was dead. Apparently, he bashed his own face into the bars of his own cell before he could see a psychiatrist prior to standing trial. There was blood all over the floor and a hell of a mess to clean up.

And knowing that story, Hanaru graduated to doing physical harm as the final stage.

~o~

Five years passed since the tragedy.

His brother's mysterious "suicide" rocked the town as well as the story behind it, involving the late Hanaru Uchiha - and how it patterned with the story that terrified Japan for barely two centuries. The frenzy was on the grieving family who kept to each other more than ever.

There was so much work to be done in the healing process for all of them. It was a blow that needed all the reconstruction it could get. When they learned of Sasuke's death, was it really a surprise and an impact on them?

Not at all. In fact, it was explosive anger and frustration from individual members, starting with the director himself. "That boy - I really gave him a chance, maybe more, and this is what he does to me in return: take my daughter from me."

"Yeah, you were my best friend, but you took away my sister, you bastard!" Naruto shouted to a picture he had of himself and Sasuke, taken when they were just children, not yet teenagers - and he lit it up with the lighter Sasuke gave him a long time ago. "This is what you get!" He dropped it into an ashtray that Hinata had for him, the both of them planning this since the beginning.

Hinata's reaction was softer, but otherwise just as cold. "I hope she continues to give him hell in the afterlife. That's my girl," she said, eyes glowing like two balls of white fire.

Izumi wasn't present, because she didn't work in the theatre. But he knew what she would say.

Basically this turned into an indictment of Sasuke to get him out of their lives, even forbid mentioning his name. But that wasn't going to be an issue, anyway.

When Jiraiya returned home after being away long enough, he flew into an angry rage, but not blaming anyone for not telling him sooner, since that was a fault of his own. He hated himself for missing the funeral, but when the shrine was done, he would make up by being there for the first prayer services.

His new play would finally be revealed to the world, and it was by the end of August, the following month. All of them pulled themselves tight for Hanaru's sake, knowing she would want them to continue living. The story was a semi-retelling of the original legend, after all, of the Weaving Princess and the Cowherd and their love which would come together only on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. This was due to the fact that after the couple wed, Orihime was unable to weave and Hikoboshi's cows went all over the heavens; angered, her father Tentei separated them across the Amanogawa River, but changed his mind at his daughter's despair. Though there were issues when the lovers tried to meet, being separated by the fact there was no bridge, and not even the magpies that aided to form the bridge could be there forever. Thus the agreement of meeting for one day and then until the next year.

But this version by Jiraiya: the girl was named Hanahime whilst the man was called Yuichi. The tale was varied in that the bride was a keeper of the flora on one side of the river bank while the man oversaw the crops and wildlife. Masculine and femininity that were meant to be but kept separated by the river, so how do you solve that problem? Try to find a way to get across to each other - and the answer presented itself in the form of tortoises powerful enough to withstand the river currents, gathering to form a bridge for the lovers to cross over to each other, never breaking the balance but unable to give up one's land for the other. It was a bittersweet happily ever after in order to keep the earth's level as it was. All of it in a single act that didn't deserve drama for once, and this wasn't something you saw every day in kabuki.

Itachi could have played the leading man this time as usual, but if anything, his brother-in-law and his fiancée deserved the spot. He couldn't have been more proud of them.

The play took place on the eve of the Tanabata Festival, was remarkably well-received, and the next day, he was in the streets of Konoha. Bamboo hung with written wishes by the people, the women in casual _yukata_. Ren was in his arms while wearing the little robe his mother made just for him. Smiling as he held his son, he set about writing down his wish to be put into the great green plant they sat beneath on a bench. Ren cooed and reached out, but his father chuckled and bounced him up and down, making him laugh.

"Want to hear what I wrote for your mama?" he cooed so that no one else would listen. The boy clapped his hands once as his answer, so Itachi picked it up and held it before bright blue eyes which couldn't read yet, and settled on reading to himself.

 _After all things pass,_

 _a new cycle must begin in place._

 _Memories are made and can't be forgotten._

 _The blue rose is rare but beloved._

 _The seasons change,_

 _the water crosses over the rocks and back,_

 _the stars twinkle then blink out_

 _only to come back again._

 _The one who withered by fate's cruel hand_

 _will never be dead but live on_

 _as long as nature's cycle survives._

The poem was on three different pieces of paper since there were so many words - and from the heart - but all three light blue. He hung them up each with one hand. Like the others, this tree and the wishes with it would be either set afloat on the river or burned around midnight right after the festivities, or next day; this was a variation of the Obon Festival which honored the dead and the ancestors.

It was also that moment to follow that he saw Izumi come up to them in a lovely yukata of navy blue and glimmering purple blossoms. He'd always noticed how radiant she was, but because he loved his late wife, he didn't get the stirring that was starting to come forth...but he pushed it down because he was still bereaved. Hanaru had been dead for less than a month, and he wasn't ready to move on yet.

Though he finally looked into her eyes and saw the gaze that Hanaru always gave him; how had he not truly noticed all this time?

But he gave it until after the holidays, before the eve of the New Year. It was then that she told him whilst trembling slightly and looking him in the eyes with her own glazed pair. This woman who held him sometimes when he cried in her presence only at mentioning his late beloved, and told him he could weep all he wanted.

"I've been in love with you all our lives, but I was scared of destroying our friendship. When you met Hanaru and got her, I respected your wishes. I really loved her, and all I wanted was for you both to be happy." She'd bitten her bottom lip at what she said next. "Then you lost her, and what that bastard did...I had to keep my distance for your sake."

Itachi had no idea how to think of this, but he was far from disgusted. He needed more time to heal, but knowing his best friend who silently loved and supported him, suppressing her own heart just to make him happy, made him feel that a second chance could be possible, but not in a heartbeat just because he owed her.

It made him remember the promise he made to his wife, that he wouldn't remarry, but if he did, he had to make damned sure she was a good mother to their son...and she was right in front of him.

This was where he said five years had passed.

Per custom to this day since its creation, a basket was left before the altar, incense burning before the photograph of the smiling woman that the young boy at this age now would never know as much as he knew the woman who was at his father's side. The one who watched him grow up and help raise him, who his grandfather, uncle and aunt loved as much as the one they lost. The brunette in a soft white lace dress with the thigh-high slit in the skirt, beneath the denim jacket that was opened to reveal the circle of fire that was given to her by her dear friend years ago.

Now Izumi wore something that had meaning all the same: the band of alternating baguette and round, placed with a large square rock of white. She was going to be Itachi Uchiha's second wife and Ren's stepmother - the mother he never had - after all this time, the wait being worth it as well as honoring the wish of the one they were paying their respects to.

His father had once felt half a man for an entire year after losing his first wife, but now new life was breathed into him because of the woman who laid the basket of radiant sapphire roses SHE loved more than anything. The color evoked peace and consolation, crawling about with lush ivy. He knelt behind the boy and held him like this, resting his chin into the smaller shoulder, quietly telling him that his mother would have been proud to see the big boy he was now.

After his fiancée put the offering before the picture and the written scripture, his attention shifted beyond to see the white form neither of them could see: the woman was not the deformed vengeful spirit, but the one that he loved in life and bore him this precious boy in his embrace.

She smiled lovingly at them both - at Izumi who brought light to the darkness that one man shrouded over all of them - and then her crystalline eyes turned past him; he craned his neck around to see Minato, Naruto, Hinata and Sakura coming to join them. His brother-in-law and the Hyuuga were married now, and with the two-year-old Boruto squirming in his mother's embrace but not throwing a fit.

Itachi gave a warm smile to Sakura. The pinkette had been named Ren's godmother to make up for the horror that her former boyfriend caused, and as of now, she was happily single and enjoying it just the same.

Now the entire family was here to celebrate Hanaru's memory and recall the happy times rather than the nightmarish days, placing her favorite roses before her memorial.

 **It breaks my heart that no one reviewed this fic AT ALL. :'( Will you please leave something for me now that it's completed? Or could it be...the story terrified you that much? (wicked gleam) Feedback!**

 **This here is a traditional song for Tanabata in Japan's real-time: "The bamboo leaves rustle, shaking away in the leaves. The stars twinkle**

 **on the gold and silver grains of sand. The five-color paper strips I have already written. The stars twinkle, and there they will watch us."**

 **The story of the star-crossed lovers is a real sad one, but at least they still got to see each other. :') In Japan today, people do the tradition of writing their wishes (poetry-style or free-formed) and hanging them on bamboo.**

 **Obon is also a festival which honors what was mentioned: the spirits of the dead and the ancestors.**

 **I realize this ending is similar to "The Pink Hair" before it, albeit slightly different. But it was necessary 'cause reasons.**

 **With this, the story as well as the entire Konoha Kaidan Trilogy comes to a conclusion. But stay tuned for more stories from me in the future, especially for ItaHana, in the form of "Allure of Darkness" which is currently in the works.**


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